Redmoon puppet fantasy runs through June 28

Redmoon Theater takes flight at Chicago’s open-air Theater on the Lake on June 24 through June 28.

Lauded by critics not only for its story line, but also for its wonderful set and costumes, Once Upon A Time (or The Secret Language of Birds) is billed as a play telling the “story of friendship, villainy, dreams and heroism that unfolds in an elaborately crafted toy theater.”

A family-friendly play, the plot unfolds in a blighted 1920s American city. Emily, the story’s heroine, is a lonely youth who can understand the language of birds. She befriends her neighbor, Bruno, a reclusive former wrestler who was involved in a fatal bout.

The city’s birds one day mysteriously disappear and Bruno and Emily set out to find them as the world, the city is too quiet without their music.

Narrated by puppeteers who use two-dimensional handcrafted puppets, the play is set in a beautifully detailed miniature theater. The story inside the small theater is filmed live and projected on a large screen to create a larger than life animated cartoon.

Tickets for all shows are $17.50. The box office is open Tuesday-Saturday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. and Sundays, 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. The theater is wheelchair accessible and a small concession stand is open for refreshments.

Performances are held Wednesday-Saturday at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday at 6:30 p.m. Parking is available at the Lincoln Park Zoo located at Fullerton Avenue and Cannon Drive. CTA bus routes 151 or 156 serve the area.

To order tickets, call the box office at (312) 742-7994.

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