Quote of the Day: They open a door, and enter a world. C.S. Lewis, from The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I am excited to announce that The Open Window Theatre in Minneapolis will be producing this show in December. I’d love it if our church would bring our youth group. I’ll volunteer to chaperone! Open Window is a fairly new theatre in the twin cities. This is the start of its 5th season. I saw Lilies of the Field there spring 2014, and it quickly became one of my favorite plays. They are growing and thriving and have a wonderful line-up for this upcoming season.

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Open Window Theatre Announces 2015-2016 Season and Expansion Open Window Theatre enters its fifth season building upon a 45% jump in season subscribers last season and a current summer expansion that will accommodate 30-40% more patrons in its intimate black-box setting. “We’ve consistently seen growth in our audience base,” says Artistic Director Jeremy Stanbary, “and we’re proud to provide more amenities along with the memorable theater experiences our patrons have come to expect.” In addition to extra seating, audiences will also enjoy an expanded lobby and the addition of public restrooms within the space. Highlights of 2015-16’s Season Five include the Minnesota premiere of an award-winning play, a provocative true story by playwright Mark St. Germain, a return to a C.S. Lewis favorite, and a classic work known by theatre students but rarely seen on stage. The season opens with the winner of the 1996 National Play Award, Sister Calling My Name, by St. Olaf College alum, Buzz McLaughlin. McLaughlin is the author of The Playwright’s Process and founded The Playwright’s Theatre of New Jersey some 25 years ago. Sister Calling My Name is a thought-provoking tour de force that grapples with issues of faith and doubt, the strength of family ties, and the dignity of the mentally disabled. The show runs September 18-October 18, and the playwright himself will attend the first two performances of this Minnesota premiere. The holiday season will bring a non-traditional classic to the stage with The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Open Window has found great success with iterations of works by and about C.S. Lewis, having produced Shadowlands, Christmas in Niatirb (a new work by artistic director Stanbary, based on Lewis’s essays) and Freud’s Last Session, an imaginary conversation between Lewis and Sigmund Freud. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe runs December 4-30 and will be directed by Joy Donley. After the show, children will be able to meet Father Christmas and receive a small gift. The allegorical drama, Everyman, will start the new year. This treasured piece of theater history is an English morality play not often seen on today’s stages. Open Window will take a modern twist on the tale written by an anonymous author. It will run February 19-March 20. The theatre will be producing another Mark St. Germain play in the spring following the success of Freud’s Last Session, which closed its Season Four to great acclaim. Best of Enemies is based on the remarkable true story of the friendship between black civil rights activist, Ann Atwater, and Exalted Cyclops of the Ku Klux Klan, C.P. Ellis. Their unlikely story exposes the poison of prejudice on both sides of the racial divide at a time when racial tensions are once again flaring up across the country. Best of Enemies will be performed April 22-May 22. Season tickets are on sale now, singles go on sale August 1. 612-615-1515 or openwindowtheatre.org.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Jeremy Stanbary, Artistic Director, (612) 615-1515, email: jstanbary@openwindowtheatre.org Joy Donley, Publicist, (952) 454-7344, email: frontporchjoy@gmail.com Website: Open Window Theatre Location: Open Window Theatre, Metropolis Minneapolis Building, 1313 Chestnut Ave #102, Minneapolis, MN.

Go. Create. Inspire!

Journaling Prompt: Did you ever imagine walking through some kind of portal like Lucy did when she entered the Wardrobe in “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?” What world would you enter?