News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Friday December 19th 2025
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.… Read the rest “Once Upon a Winter Night”
RETURNING CHAPTER 18: TESSERACT
By PATRICK CABELLO HANSEL
Your author has asked you to suspend disbelief on more than one occasion. That a multi-million dollar criminal enterprise disguised as a non-profit can be hidden in plain site in the part of East Phillips once known as “the swale.” That a 4-year-old could expertly call 911 and communicate exact details. That tunnels and passageways can appear out of nowhere.
But feature this: we are asked to suspend disbelief all the time. Or maybe it’s suspend belief (which it our crazy world, can amount to the same thing). We are asked to believe that there is liberty and justice for all, that anyone can become President, that if you just work hard enough, you can do anything, that it’s just a few “bad apples” that spoil (take your pick: the police, the NFL, the entertainment industry), that the Vikings will win the Super Bowl if they just get the right: coach, GM, quarterback, kicker.
So why should it surprise you that our blessed little family, under the threat of an evil man’s gun travelled not only through space but through time, ending up in the swale, the same place in space, but a different place in time: the 1870s, when the mystery surrounding Mateo Kelly Hidalgo began.… Read the rest “RETURNING CHAPTER 18: TESSERACT”
Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore to Open in New Location
by Carz Nelson
Uncle Hugo’s Science Fiction Bookstore and its twin, Uncle Edgar’s Mystery Bookstore, will reopen soon in a new location. The two stores, known collectively as the Uncles, were burned to the ground during the George Floyd Uprising in 2020. In the January 28, 2022 edition of the store’s newsletter, How’s Business, owner Don Blyly announced his plan to purchase the building at 2716 E 31st St. as the new site for the Uncles.
It’s conveniently located – within walking distance of a light rail stop and Lake Street buses. Off-street parking won’t be available; however, there is always plenty of free street parking in the area.
The 5000 square foot building was built in 1932, and reportedly has a WPA painting of Minnehaha Falls on an interior wall. If all goes well, the sale will close on March 24. After some work on the building, Blyly anticipates the store will open in June. He cautions that projects like this often take longer than planned, so this schedule is only an estimate.
While they are no longer located in the Phillips Neighborhood, many are grateful that the Uncles will remain in South Minneapolis. The stores’ presence is sure to be a benefit to the Longfellow Neighborhood.… Read the rest “Uncle Hugo’s Bookstore to Open in New Location”
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