News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Tuesday October 8th 2024

Once Upon a Winter Night

A World Premiere by Michael Sommers
March 3 – 20, 2022

Open Eye Theatre Mainstage

506 E. 24th Street
Minneapolis, MN

For tickets and COVID-19 requirements, visit www.openeyetheatre.org

An intimate new show celebrating a season of magic, melancholy, and mischief-making.


Intended as a fairytale for grown-ups, Once Upon a Winter Night explores the merriment and menace of winter through a child’s eyes, while meditating on the profound mystery which accompanies seasonal change.

Audiences will watch the story unfold within a meticulously designed snow globe, where crows take roost, icicles grow, and the moon sings above the forest and the fields. Smoke curls from the bell tower where a lone child sleeps, dreaming of a sister made of snow. Up on the mountaintop, Sister Winter looks down, wishing to steal the little girl’s warmth, so she may melt into the sea and transition into something new. The ensuing adventure–both playful and perilous–begins when Sister Winter sends a mischievous snow fox to lead the girl away from the bell tower and deep into the woods….


Drawing upon multiple literary influences such as Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Match Girl,” Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Snow Image”, and the tradition of Yuki-Onna, a snow spirit of Japanese folklore, ONCE UPON A WINTER NIGHT will use a variety of puppetry styles to conjure comedic crows, a singing snowman, owls and snow spirits; while projected etchings evoke images from an antique storybook; and beautiful music for cello and grand piano underscores the scenes.

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