Fringe shows often work best when they offer something you’re just not going to see on a typical night of D.C. theater. Nearly life-sized puppetry, underscored by lush orchestration, all in the effort of delivering a dark, dystopian take on a familiar fairy tale? Red Hood: Once Upon A Wartime qualifies.

This artsy take on the “Little Red Riding Hood” myth intriguingly melds the actions of traditional actors and their puppet counterparts (both doll-sized and more lifelike counterparts are used throughout the production), who interact throughout the tale (including John Robert Keena as a graceful, yet hair-raising wolf). The melancholy retelling doesn’t adhere precisely to the traditional story, and interjects strong themes of lost innocence and outside world menace into the tale.

The near-absent script of Red Hood can make some of the more unusual plot trajectories hard to follow at points — the insertion of an aggressive paparazzi figure accosting the girl and a soldier, for example, isn’t exactly clear, despite the work’s hints at a wartime setting. But Red Hood works best if you concentrate on the more impressionistic nature of the piece; let the fluid poetry and crescendoing orchestrations carry you along instead.

Red Hood has three additional performances: on July 17, 18 and 25. It plays at The Shop at Fort Fringe; tickets are available online.