Once upon a time there was a little girl who dreamed of being Cinderella, relinquishing her chores and hardships for life with a prince in a castle with towers. It was all very enchanting, but when it came time to go out and see the world, the little girl felt a bit cheated. There were things Charles Perrault and Walt Disney hadn’t told her. Miracles and money don’t always solve problems, and handsome princes are rarely as charming after the ball.

But in the 1988 Tony Award-winning musical “Into the Woods,” Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine aren’t afraid to explore what popularized folk tales left out. When the touring production of the show was performed for a full house at the Maine Center for the Arts Saturday night, viewers might have been surprised to see Jack of Jack and the Beanstalk portrayed as a thief and a murderer, or Little Red Riding Hood as a bloodthirsty child. But once we begin to reconsider the characters of our childhood, to look beyond sanitized animation and wish-fulfillment, then we begin to understand the premise of this production: indeed, “nice” is different from “good.”

Despite the presentation of the crueler sides of these fairy tales, Sondheim and Lapine manage to create a bright and bouncy tale about a conglomeration of familiar storybook characters — and a few new ones — all of whom embark on journeys of self-discovery by going into the woods. In the first act of the show, these rags-to-witches fairybook folks present their tales, begin quests, and are transformed by the attainment of their wishes. In the second act, each must confront the consequences of dreams that come true. Not only do the survivors learn about death, deceit and destruction, but they also learn to work as a community to endure in an unpredictable world of witches, giants, curses and false hopes.

Beginning and ending with the words “I wish,” the show does not set out to undervalue the importance of fantasy. Rather, it delivers a long overdue commentary on the necessity of responsibility and the inevitability of misfortune and dissatisfaction in the real world. To Sondheim’s startlingly stacccato score and ingeniously witty and poignant lyrics, we learn that princely charm can be agonizing, a cape and a hood are precious little protection against wolves, and giants have feelings, too.

Although most of the characters grow from weighty lessons about the precarious nature of wish fulfillment, there are some whose fates end with disturbing irresolution. The witch, who is frequently unpleasant but always honest, dies an irredeemable outsider. And the giantess, who comes to the woods in search of retribution for her husband’s murder, is pitilessly massacred.

Though wonderfully entertaining, energetic and high-spirited, the performance suffered from a disfunctioning sound system, many poorly executed lighting cues and frequently trite choreography.

In his nice tales of “happily ever after,” dear Disney left out some of the human complexities and worldly realities of life. But for all the little girls and boys — and adults — who still want to believe in fairy tale heroes, “Into the Woods” combines priceless and loving messages about self-reliance, accountability, community and quests with the mystique of fantasy and the thrill of adventure.