Open Window Theatre in-person presentations are back after COVID-19 break

After a seven-month break forced by the novel coronavirus pandemic, in-person theater is back at Open Window Theatre this fall with the play “Lolek,” a story of Pope St. John Paul II’s experience as a young man during the Nazi occupation of Poland.

Performances of the three-person play, written by co-founder and executive artistic director Jeremy Stanbary, are being offered at the Inver Grove Heights theater for in-person and virtual audiences until Nov. 29 — and may continue into the new year, Stanbary said.

Stanbary and his wife, Sarah, both have roles in “Lolek.” They co-founded the professional theater in 2011 to bring together art and a Catholic worldview. In addition to “Lolek,” Open Window Theatre plans next year to produce, “The Scrutiny Passion,” about the Passion of Christ and “Tolkien” about the friendship between authors J.R.R.Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.

For in-person audiences, the theater is following COVID-19 protocols, including state-mandated theater capacity limits, facial coverings and social distancing. Virtual audiences can enjoy great views of the production, thanks to a camera embedded onstage, Stanbary said.

During the pandemic’s challenges, the world needs beauty, which is a visible sign of the good, said Stanbary, who with his family belongs to St. Joseph in West St. Paul.

“Christ is beauty we need in the midst of darkness,” he said. We need the beauty of God’s love, mercy and presence during suffering, hardship and atheistic worldviews to pull us out of that darkness. For this reason, theater and other arts that present beauty — particularly inspired by a Christian or Catholic worldview — are especially important.

For more information about Open Window Theatre, performance schedules and to order tickets visit openwindowtheatre.org.