Art to evoke a winter’s night — or a warming globe
Puppeteer Seth Eberle is excited to see the “low-tech, high-magic puppetry effects” when “Once Upon a Winter Night” opens Thursday at Open Eye Theatre in Minneapolis.
“If there's something that Open Eye does very well, it is making fairy tales for adults with really good puppetry,” Eberle said.
The show is a new production by Open Eye co-founder Michael Sommers, whose work has explored ideas from Hans Christian Andersen in the past.
Live music and original score by Eric Jensen bring this winter dream to life on a snow globe set complete with crows. The show runs through March 20.
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When a friend told artist Sarah Nassif about the multidisciplinary show, “Thermal” at the American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis, she had to check it out.
In the mansion’s ballroom-like space, Nassif encountered Kim Heidcamp’s massive cut-paper sculpture that evokes a hibernating creature. Composer Josh Clausen’s soundscape, created by more than 75 MP3 players and small speakers, plays while three dancers from Arena Dances bring life and energy.
“It's just one of the most original works that I've seen in memory,” said Nassif.
The performance is designed to allow audiences to contemplate the anxiety and uncertainty of climate change along with the wonder and beauty of our environment. “Thermal” runs Fridays and Saturdays through March 19.
Kris Prince, an artist and educator in the Minneapolis Public Schools said she was every bit as delighted as the children in the audience when she saw the musical “The Dragon Who Likes to Spit Fire” at the Sabes Jewish Community Center in St. Louis Park.
She said retired Temple Israel Rabbi Sim Glaser fulfilled a lifelong dream when he wrote the music and the lyrics to the musical, based on a 1961 picture book by the same name. The story follows Princess June, who befriends Darius the dragon and invites him home to her castle, on the condition that he not spit fire while inside. But breathing fire is Darius’ favorite thing.
The final shows are Saturday at 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
