Photo Flash: First Look at Redmoon's WINTER PAGEANT 2014

Chicago's acclaimed Spectacle company Redmoon presents its annual family-friendly Winter Pageant for two weekends in December. In its 16th year, the holiday tradition explores the idea of grand love and honors the four seasons of the human heart. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Set atop a massive glacier, the love stories are brought to life by a cast of more than 40 performers - 10 professional spectacle performers alongside 30 community collaborators. These include internationally acclaimed urban dancers, aerialists ages 8 to 35, a teen choir and beautiful, handmade Redmoon puppets and costumes, with a live original score performed by a one-man/10-instrument band.

In Winter Pageant 2014, a pair of explorers travels to a massive glacier - built entirely of paper - in search of a precious mineral that will bring them great worldly wealth, but a disagreement forces them to part ways. On their separate journeys across the massive icescape, the explorers encounter a series of imaginative mythological and archetypal creatures, both real and imagined - from shadow puppet dinosaurs and deer backpacks to two larger-than-life Yeti in their hydraulic-powered ice cave home - who tell their unique stories about different kinds of love.

The poetic new production features: a live original score composed and performed by one-man band The Lonesome Organist simultaneously playing accordion, banjo, fiddle, piano, drums and more; fantastic child aerialists from Aerial Dance Chicago accompanied by an adult professional aerialist; award-winning urban dancers who have performed their uniquely Chicago style of dance across the world; a shadow puppet show designed with intricate silhouettes by Andrea Everman; wild, shaggy Yeti costumes designed by Shoshanna Utchenik; an original song about the power of love written by acclaimed playwright Seth Bockley; Chicago West Community Music Center, a community-based youth choir of skilled teens from the West Side including a 10-year-old harpist; and artwork created by After School Matters teens.

Winter Pageant's poetic love stories were inspired by real-life stories collected by Redmoon's Katrina Flores and youth mentor/performing artist Jarius King. Flores and King interviewed Chicagoans across diverse neighborhoods, backgrounds and ages, who were encouraged to share a personal story about "the grand love that changed their life."

Winter Pageant 2014 was co-created by Will Bishop, Jillian Gryzlak and Frank Maugeri, directed by Will Bishop with Katrina Flores and art directed by Jillian Gryzlak with live original music by The Lonesome Organist.

Redmoon's Winter Pageant 2014 takes place December 12-21 at Redmoon, 2120 S. Jefferson Street. Performances are Fridays at 7 pm, and Saturdays & Sundays at 1 pm & 5 pm. Press night is opening night, Friday, December 12. Tickets, $25 for adults and $15 for kids 3+, are available at redmoon.org or 312-850-8440 x123.

Photo Credit: Al Zayed

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