A new production of Sondheim's fairy tale mashup Into the Woods, which won rave reviews and became an immediate hit of the latest Broadway season, is heading to San Francisco for a limited engagement in June 2023, as part of a national tour.

And, unlike many Broadway tours, this one comes with several of the Broadway cast members still attached, including stars Stephanie J. Block as The Baker's Wife, and Gavin Creel as Cinderella's Prince. Also reprising his role as The Baker will be Sebastian Arcelus.

The "strictly limited" engagement at the Curran theater will be June 20 to 25, 2023, and tickets are going on sale soon, TBA.

This production — originally done as part of New York City Center's Encores series last spring before transferring to Broadway this fall, where it's still playing — is directed by Lear deBessonet, and the New York Times named it as one of the best pieces of theater this year. The show has been extended several times and has already been recast a couple of times as a result, and the Times writes, "Lear DeBessonet’s marvelously cast production... systematically returned the familiar story to its specifics, bringing out the human comedy within the tragedy, and vice versa." And, they say, with the COVID pandemic still taking a toll on Broadway and other aspects of life, "the show’s theme of caring about community resounded."

The company for the SF stop on the tour will also include – direct from Broadway – Cole Thompson as Jack, Katy Geraghty as Little Red Ridinghood, David Patrick Kelly as The Narrator, Nancy Opel as Cinderella’s Stepmother, Aymee Garcia as Jack’s Mother, Ta’Nika Gibson as Lucinda, Brooke Ishibashi as Florinda, Kennedy Kanagawa as Milky White, Jim Stanek as the Steward, and Alysia Velez as Rapunzel.

Into the Woods first premiered on Broadway in 1987, winning three Tony Awards including Best Score and Best Book. It was adapted into a major motion picture in 2014, and notably revived in a stripped-down version in 2015 on Broadway, traveling to SF in 2017.

The move to bring this newer Into the Woods to the Curran in June signals that the Ambassador Theatre Group, the British outfit that now operates here as BroadwaySF and has exclusive rights to the Orpheum and Golden Gate theaters, will continue using the Curran for some bookings, following the closure of Harry Potter & the Cursed Child. The spring schedule at the theater remains anyone's guess, and the BroadwaySF website still has not added the Curran under its "Venues" list.

Tonight, the Curran comes alive again as the venue for a one-night engagement with Kiki & Herb, the cabaret act of Justin Vivian Bond and Kenny Melman, doing a new Christmas show. And tomorrow, public radio hosts Ira Glass (This American Life) and Jad Abumrad (RadioLab) are doing an "in conversation" thing there.

Sign up for updates about pre-sale and on-sale dates for Into the Woods via the "Notify me" link on the Curran website.

Top image: Julia Lester, Gavin Creel, Jason Forbach, Patina Miller, Sara Bareilles, Phillipa Soo and cast during the the opening night curtain call for "Into The Woods" on Broadway at The St. James Theatre on July 10, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Glikas/Getty Images)