2025 Midwinter Revels Inspired by Novella by Gregory Maguire, Author of “Wicked”

CAMBRIDGE, MA – For its 55th year in Harvard University’s Sanders Theatre, Revels brings audiences on a journey to lands far north with Midwinter Revels: A Scandinavian Story for Christmas. Inspired by the novella Matchless by Wicked author Gregory Maguire, this year’s Midwinter Revels promises to delight as Revels’ signature multi-generational cast joyously brings traditions to life through music, dance, and song.

Although Gregory Maguire is best known around the world for his novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, which has been adapted into a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical and an Oscar-winning film, he is known around the Revels community for his many years of participation and friendship, especially with Revels founder John “Jack” Langstaff. In an essay titled “Getting to Revels,” published in 2000, Maguire describes his love for the organization by saying, “How do you get to Revels? Well, you get there by a movement in your heart, a sort of involuntary lurch that sets you leaning toward light and movement in the darkest part of the year.”

Maguire has also maintained a close friendship with Revels Interim Artistic Director Debra Wise for many years. Most recently, Wise narrated the audiobooks of Maguire’s Another Day trilogy, a continuation of the Wicked epic. The use of Maguire’s novella Matchless as inspiration for this season’s Midwinter Revels is a continuation of this long-standing relationship. Originally commissioned by NPR in 2008, Matchless is a modern retelling of the Hans Christian Andersen classic fairy tale, “The Little Match Girl.”. “In selecting this tale for revisiting – illumination, perhaps – I hope to honor the original by finding a way to return to the story a sense of the transcendent,” said Maguire about the piece.

Midwinter Revels: A Scandinavian Story for Christmas blends the transcendent aspects of Matchless with the Revels’ signature focus on Winter Solstice traditions from around the world. The story takes place on an island so far north that it snows from September to April, where young Frederick must find warmth and light in the darkest of days. With music hailing from Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, and Norway, fused together with Revels’ annual participatory traditions such as “Lord of the Dance,” “Dona Nobis Pacem,” and “Sussex Mummers Carol,” Midwinter Revels: A Scandinavian Story for Christmas brings light to the darkest days of the year with Revels’ signature touch of joyous song. Midwinter

Revels is directed by Debra Wise and written by Debra Wise, Patrick Swanson, and Nicole Galland. Music direction is by Elijah Botkin, and the show features David Coffin, Eliza Fichter, David Keohane,Kristian Espiritu, and Joshua Wolf Coleman, along with principal musicians lydia ievins, Laura Hummel, Sammy Wetstein, and Tom Pixton.

Revels is also excited to introduce a variety of special events throughout the run of Midwinter Revels. Both the 1:00 PM and 5:30 PM performances on Sunday, December 14, will be presented as part of Revels’ Scandinavian Cultural Day, and will include pre-show programming from local Scandinavian performers as well as Scandinavian-inspired food and beverages for purchase. The 2:00 PM matinee on Sunday, December 26, is Family Day at Revels, where children in attendance are encouraged to come early with their families for pre-show entertainment, photos with the famous Revels dragons, and a special children’s program book with activities and games to accompany the performance. Director Debra Wise will also offer a free talkback between the 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM performances on Saturday, December 27, to expand on the cultural traditions and storytelling origins of the show.

Midwinter Revels: A Scandinavian Story for Christmas runs for fourteen performances, December 12 – 28, at Harvard University’s historic Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy Street, Cambridge, MA. Tickets include free parking at the Broadway Garage, a block from Sanders Theatre. Ticket prices range from $35-$105 (adults); $20-80 (youth). Revels is a participant in the Mass Cultural Council’s Card to Culture program, offering discounted tickets to EBT and WIC cardholders. Revels is also proud to offer youth ticket deals for patrons under 35. Midwinter Revels will also be available to stream from December 28 – January 11. Patrons who purchase a virtual event pass will be able to view a recording of a live performance in Sanders Theatre with unlimited views during the streaming period. Ticket information can be found at revels.org/midwinter.

Midwinter Revels was supported in part by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, which receives support from the State of Massachusetts and the National Endowment for the Arts.