Students at Highland High School and Hillcrest Academy drama will be entering stage right for their fall theatre performances this weekend. 

Highland High School is performing the Stephen Sondheim-composed musical “Into the Woods, Jr.,” and Hillcrest Academy is performing the play “Mom’s Gift, ” written by Edina, Minnesota native Phil Olson. This comedy with a heart follows the titular Mom, who has been dead for 11 months and shows up at her husband’s birthday party as a ghost with a mission. She must accomplish a task to earn her wings, though what the task actually is, is a mystery. 

“Into the Woods, Jr.” follows a once-beautiful witch, and a baker and his wife who venture into the forest to find the ingredients that will restore the witch’s beauty. Along the way, they run into some recognizable fairytale characters who have wishes of their own. Highland Drama Director Jenny McClenahan explains how their last production of “Beauty and the Beast” played a part in choosing “Into the Woods” for their fall production, “We have to get really creative with our tiny little stage. And Beauty and the Beast takes a big stage so we had to get creative with our set pieces. And one night at practice I said, ‘You know, if we did Into the Woods next year we wouldn’t have to repaint these set pieces. Look, we have the woods, the baker’s shop, we have Jack’s house.’ And they just looked at me and said, ‘Yes! Let’s do that show!’ They were very excited and Into the Woods was one of the shows that several of them had hoped we would do someday.”

Performances of “Into the Woods, Jr.” are at 7 p.m. today and tomorrow at Highland High School. Tickets can be purchased at the door and are $10 for adults and $5 for students. “Mom’s Gift” will take the stage at 7 p.m. today and tomorrow and at 2 p.m. Sunday at Hillcrest Academy, with doors opening a half hour prior. Tickets can be purchased at the door or by calling the school office. Cost is $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens.