Manual Cinema from Chicago, Illinois
Available
Few Seats Left
Unavailable
Week of March 24 – 30
Mar 29
Sat, 12pm
Sat, 5pm
Mar 30
Sun, 11am
Sun, 3pm
Week of March 31 – April 6
Apr 05
Get to know the performers and creative team at a Talk-Back!
Apr 06
Live sign-interpretation provided
Live audio-description provided
Share:
Nine-year-old Philomena loves building miniature cities with her big sister, Helen. But when Helen gets engaged, what will become of their world? And who wants a weird new stepbrother? So Philomena fashions herself a new world from books, toys and found objects that come alive when she falls asleep. Will she retreat into her imagination, or can she open up to her newly blended family? Brought to adventurous life through Manual Cinema’s (Leonardo!, 2022) signature fusion of actors, puppets, live music and miniatures, The Magic City encourages us to build bridges rather than walls.
The Magic City lets everyone in.
—Chicago Tribune
The show on stage is just one act of your experience! Come early or stay late for free lobby activities on the day of the show. Then whether you’re building anticipation, continuing the fun or looking for laughs at any time, at-home New Victory Arts Break activities await you whenever and wherever.
A performance troupe, design studio and production company, Manual Cinema tells visually exciting stories that redefine the term “multimedia.” Vintage overhead projectors, puppets, actors and live feed cameras cross moviegoing with theatergoing, remaking the cinema experience with liveness and theatricality for the stage. Their ingenuity won them an Emmy in 2017 for The Forger, a documentary short made in collaboration with The New York Times.
Writer Drew Dir
Art Direction & Puppets Lizi Breit and Drew Dir
Costume & Wig Designer Mieka van der Ploeg
Lighting Designer Claire Chrzan
Sound Designers Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter
Production Stage Manager Kate Hardiman
Get additional accessibility details, and prepare for your visit with our New Victory Social Narrative.
Our facilities and programs
We strive to make our programs, performances and spaces accessible.
Amenities and free activities
Dive into everything to know about seeing a show at the New Victory.
Explore the arts from home!
Flex your creativity and stretch your imagination.
