Saint Pope John Paul II was a lover of the arts, in particular theatrics. He once wisely remarked that “the purpose of art is nothing less than the upliftment of the human spirit.”
In a day and age where artistic expression is often crude or far from uplifting and God-glorifying, our family and many in our local community have found a gem, a theater whose mission is to highlight stage performances with a redemptive vision in the Twin Cities of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.
Open Window Theatre is a professional, multigenerational theater portraying stories of faith, hope, and reconciliation.
“We view art as inherently transcendent–a window to the Divine and to the innermost reality of the human person and the world. At Open Window Theatre, we focus on a redemptive vision in the arts because we believe there’s a crisis of hope and true beauty in today’s world.”
After living through their own story of redemptive suffering, Open Window Theatre re-opened their doors and was forced to quickly close them once again because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
After much prayer and preparedness, Open Window will be the only local theatre to offer live performances starting in October with a world premier performance of Lolek. Written by Jeremy Stanbary, the founder of Open Window, Lolek is a three-person stage performance portraying the fascinating true story of Karol Wojtyla, who later became our beloved Pope John Paul II. The story outlines his “heroic resistance to the Nazi Occupation of Poland during World War II.”
“Out of the depths of one of the darkest moments in human history rose a spiritual leader whose radiant faith, born of tragedy, would change the course of history.”
Opening night will take place on the Feast of Saint Pope John Paul II, October 22, 2020 and the show is projected to run through December 20. Tickets for live in-person performances are available on the Open Window website.
The Bellator community is wide and most are likely unable to make a trip to Saint Paul, Minnesota for such an occasion. As lovers of the True, the Good, and the Beautiful, I invite you to an opportunity to support this rare gift of artistic expression by purchasing tickets for immersive, cinematic, 4K virtual performances of Lolek.
