Open Eye Theatre

07/02/2025

We're kicking off SWEET SONGS & FLYING OBJECTS, our outdoor festival of live music & puppetry, next Friday, July 11! This event is FREE! Learn more: openeyetheatre.org/sweet-songs-and-flying-objects

Join us for The Twilight Magic Lantern Hour: An evening of stop-motion animation and cinematic puppetry presented in partnership with Trilingua Cinema. Featuring:

→ Oanh Vu, Andrew Young & Charlie McCarron
→ Olli Johnson
→ Heidi Arneson
→ Luca Trujillo
→ Erica Warren
→ Ritchie Hemphill & Ryan Haché
→ Linda Wingerter & Stringpullers Puppet Co

🎵 With musical guest Angela Maria Lara Cabrera on vibraphone

Bring a blanket, bring your friends, and settle in for a night of enchantment!

This Cultural Districts Arts Fund activation is funded, in part, by the City of Minneapolis Arts & Cultural Affairs Department.

07/01/2025

Our Driveway Tour show THE ADVENTURES OF KATIE TOMATIE is featured in the Star Tribune's Critics' picks this week! We'll be hitting the road for a show at the Gammelgården Museum of Scandia this Saturday! Come join us or find a show near you: openeyetheatre.org/driveway-tour

Critics’ picks for entertainment in the week ahead.

06/21/2025

You can catch a free performance of our Driveway Tour show THE ADVENTURES OF KATIE TOMATIE at Turbo Tim's Anything Automotive in Mounds View tomorrow, Sunday, June 22 at 1pm! Check out our full schedule of shows at openeyetheatre.org/driveway-tour.

06/20/2025

Don't miss a free performance of A La Carte: In a Fool's Kitchen by Z Puppets Rosenschnoz at the Midtown Farmers Market tomorrow – Saturday, June 21! Featuring clowning, puppetry, music, and a few unruly vegetables!

06/08/2025

Last chance to see ODE TO WALT WHITMAN today at 2:00! openeyetheatre.org/ode-to-walt-whitman

And one final review! Thanks, Minnesota Daily!

As the first week of June comes to a close, the celebration of Pride and the LGBTQ+ community starts as Open Eye Theatre presents “Ode to Walt Whitman,” created and...

06/06/2025

"It was beautiful ... we LOVED the music and the artistry." – Audience Member

Join us for the final three performances of Bart Buch's ODE TO WALT WHITMAN, featuring a live score by Martin Dosh. Closing this Sunday! openeyetheatre.org/ode-to-walt-whitman

Photos by Nicole Neri.

06/05/2025

MPR News' Alex Cipolle interviewed ODE TO WALT WHITMAN creator Bart Buch about the show.

“We’re fighting this war on empathy, imagination, connection, relation and that if we can just all tell our stories, it would help balance the other stories happening out there ... I really encourage people to be creative right now. We need it.” — Bart Buch

Join us tonight after the show for birthday cake and festive punch as we celebrate the life and legacy of iconic q***r poet Federico García Lorca! Get tickets: openeyetheatre.org/ode-to-walt-whitman

Bart Buch’s “Ode to Walt Whitman,” now at Open Eye Theatre, is a multimedia puppet performance inspired by Whitman and Lorca’s poetry and q***r identities, reimagining their dialogue through modern gay dating apps to explore love, connection and democracy in troubled times.

06/04/2025

We’re marking 25 years of magic in South Minneapolis next Thursday, June 12 at our Open Eye Ball - Silver Jubilee! Will you celebrate with us? Featuring:

🎭 Michael Sommers' clever “chalk talk” honoring 25 years of Minnesota-grown art!
🎤 A preview of storyteller extraordinaire Kevin Kling’s new solo show!
✨ Puppeteer Sofia Padilla conjuring magic with sand, gesture, and light!
🎶 A sneak peek of LIZZIE, our rock opera about America’s notorious axe murderer featuring Lux Mortenson, Abilene Olson, Grace Hillmyer & Marley Ritchie!
🍸 Cocktails, gourmet grazing boxes & unique auction items!

This party fuels our mission and future—don’t miss it!
Tickets: openeyetheatre.org/open-eye-ball

06/03/2025

Experience the joy and creativity that puppets can bring! We’re kicking off our summer Driveway Tour this Thursday, June 5 with THE ADVENTURES OF KATIE TOMATIE!

Find a public show near you and join the fun! openeyetheatre.org/driveway-tour

With school out for the summer, Katie doesn't want to do anything but watch her tomatoes grow. Digging in her garden, she unearths Mr. Boo Boo, a very excitable skeleton. This unlikely duo sets off for a day of adventure, and Katie's 'do-nothing' day becomes the best day ever.

First photo: KATIE TOMATIE performers Ayesha Kinunnen & Irene Weinhagen

06/03/2025

Another great review of ODE TO WALT WHITMAN! "The text, both Whitman's and Lorca's, is gripping, and the art of puppetry is beautifully employed, making Ode to Walt Whitman a pleasure to behold." – TalkinBroadway.com

Closing this Sunday! Get tickets: openeyetheatre.org/ode-to-walt-whitman

Talkin' Broadway E-Blast List Sound Advice Weekly html emails about new and upcoming theatre-related CD, DVD and Book releases. Talkin Broadway E-blast Periodic e-blasts for giveaways, discount notices and show announcements.

06/02/2025

Just four performances left of ODE TO WALT WHITMAN!

Don’t miss Bart Buch’s acclaimed puppet poem—an evocative meeting of Walt Whitman and Federico García Lorca set in the digital age.

🎂 Join us this Thursday, June 5 to celebrate Lorca’s birthday! Stay after the show for cake, festive punch, and a tribute to his enduring voice.

Tickets: openeyetheatre.org/ode-to-walt-whitman

Photos by Nicole Neri.