Kokandy Productions’ “Into The Woods,” with Kevin Webb and Anna Seibert, August Forman, Emily Goldberg, Ariana Miles, Evelyn Ryan and Stephanie Stockstill/Photo: Evan Hanover

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There’s magic going on in The Chopin’s basement theater. The ceiling is hung with yellow lights and strips of cloth, like sunbeams through the branches of trees. The support beams are covered with pages from storybooks. At the center are two shiny grand pianos, along with two toy pianos, the smaller topped with a golden skull.

This is the setting for Kokandy Productions’ fine and intimate telling of Stephen Sondheim’s 1986 musical “Into the Woods”—a tale of wishes, spells and deadly danger. Billed as the first Chicago storefront production of the musical in over a decade, the show puts Sondheim right up close, as if you were getting a cabaret in your own basement, performed by some of the best pianists and musical theater actors in town. Director and choreographer Derek Van Barham, Kokandy’s artistic director, and music director Nick Sula create an evening of music, comedy and drama that doesn’t slow down, and is a fitting tribute to Sondheim’s genius.

“Into the Woods” is an entanglement of different fairy tales by the Brothers Grimm, including “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Cinderella,” “Jack and the Beanstalk” and “Rapunzel.” A baker and his wife (Kevin Webb and Sonia Goldberg) long for a child, but a witch (Stephanie Stockstill) tell them that they must first present her with a red cloak, a golden slipper, hair as yellow as corn, and a cow as white as milk. This means Mr. and Mrs. Baker must interfere with the characters of other fairy tales, who are on their own quests for happiness.

All of them must go into the woods, which means going into hazard and learning things they didn’t expect. The process is painful. These aren’t Disney-fied fairy tales—Cinderella’s stepsisters cut off parts of their feet to fit the slipper. As Little Red (Anna Seibert) puts it, “Isn’t it nice to know a lot? And a little bit not.”

There’s not a weak link in this cast. Everyone is up to both the challenge of Sondheim’s music and the dark humor of James Lapine’s book. Webb and Madison Kauffman were wonderful in Theo Ubique’s version of Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music” earlier this year, and they are also standouts in “Into the Woods.” Webb is touching as a man who doesn’t realize how much he needs his wife. As Cinderella, Kauffman exudes innocence and joy—she really does just want to go to the festival and could take or leave the prince.

Kokandy Productions’ “Into The Woods,” with Stephanie Stockstill and Ismael Garcia/Photo: Evan Hanover

Also fun to watch is Shea Hopkins as Prince Charming and the Wolf, both eager pursuers of flesh. Hopkins is appropriately over the top, full of howling lust and stagey phoniness. He also sings beautifully. As the witch, Stockstill has a big, warm and flexible voice—her rendition of “Stay with Me” with Ismael Garcia’s Rapunzel was genuinely moving, the cry of a mother who has nothing to live for but the child she’s about to lose.

Two of the biggest stars are the pianists—Ariana Miles and Evelyn Ryan. Their joint sound is terrific—sometimes big, like a giant’s pounding feet, sometimes light and playful like the wind through leaves. The actors interact with the musicians—whether they’re exchanging exasperated looks or sitting down on the bench and plunking out a few chords of their own. The pianists use the Schroeder-style toy pianos for extra sound effects and play upon the piano strings with a drumstick. This show would be worth seeing for the piano performances alone.

The show’s main flaw is part of its strength—the tight setting in the basement theater. Its intimacy makes the show feel like a fairy tale told at bedtime. However, the support beams are so big that they destroy sightlines for some interactions. Where I was sitting, I completely missed out on seeing a few encounters between the witch and the baker, while those across from me likely missed out on action between Jack and his mom, or Cinderella and her magic tree. You can still hear the actors, but it was impossible to see them, even by craning your neck, and that takes you out of the show and lessens the experience.

Fortunately, the players move around a lot, so they don’t stay out of sight for long. Perhaps more scenes could be performed on the raised platform between the pianos. I don’t know of another solution to this problem, except to maybe go to the show again and see it from another seat. There’s enough time for this, as it plays until December 22. It’s worth more than one listen.

Kokandy Productions’ “Into the Woods” is through December 22 at The Chopin Studio Theatre, 1543 West Division. Showtimes are: Thursdays-Saturdays at 7pm; Sundays at 5pm. Additional performances are on Wednesday, November 27 at 7pm and Monday, December 9 at 7pm; there will be no performance on Thursday, November 28 (Thanksgiving). Tickets are $35-$55, available at kokandyproductions.com.