AMERICAN CROSSROADS: A SOLSTICE CELEBRATION is Coming to Sanders Theatre

Revels will present the 56th Midwinter Revels American Crossroads: A Solstice Celebration December 11-28 AT Sanders Theatre in Cambridge, continuing one of the most cherished holiday traditions in New England. Artistic Director Jeffrey Binder marks his Revels directorial debut, sharing this unique American story 250 years in the making. Tickets go on sale to the general public Thursday, October 8 at revels.org/midwinter.

Revels brings together people of all ages and backgrounds through musical and theatrical celebrations of our world's cultural and seasonal traditions. Revels combines artistic excellence with the lively participation of audience and volunteers in their performances and programs. Drawing on 19th-century songs and stories from the Great Plains, this Midwinter Revels will include cultural touchstones of the American frontier and the diverse communities who shaped it.

Set on the Winter Solstice of 1876, immigrants and families from Ireland, Germany, Poland, China, and beyond gather at a tiny Great Plains train station to await the first train — and the promise of a new American future. But when the train mysteriously goes silent somewhere out on the winter Plains, an ancient spirit of hunger and division begins to grow among them.

The cast of Midwinter Revels includes some of Revels' favorite performers led by David Coffin, who has been Master of Ceremonies since 1990. Musician Jake Blount, who appeared in 2019's Midwinter Revels, actors Eliza Fichter(Midwinter Revels 2024 and 2025) and Doug Lockwood (founding member of Actors Shakespeare Project) will also be featured. Massachusetts' Inaugural Poet Laureate Regie Gibson (Midwinter Revels 2021) recently performed at a Revels Fringe program at the venerable Club Passim.

Jeffrey Binder is a theatre artist and arts leader whose work spans directing, playwriting, producing, education, and nonprofit administration. He brings a lifelong commitment to storytelling that fosters empathy, joy, and a sense of belonging across generations and communities. He spent nearly three decades performing on Broadway, in regional theatres across the country, in London's West End, and served as Associate Artistic Director of Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, Florida. As a playwright, Binder's modern adaptation of Scapino is published by Samuel French and has enjoyed record-breaking productions.

A companion event to Midwinter Revels, Revels Salon-Harmonies & Homesteaders: 1870s on the American Plainstakes place October 15 in the historic Carriage House at Waltham's Gore Place. WBUR's Amelia Mason will lead a conversation with Binder and Revels Music Director Elijah Botkin exploring the creative inspiration and process behind this year's Midwinter Revels. The evening, presented in partnership with Gore Place, will also feature a reception with light fare and beverages, live music and song.