‘Black Wood: Winterborn’ brings Montana back to the “dark side”

Gunnar Montana is back with another intoxicating showcase, this time titled ‘Black Wood: Winterborn.’

Montana is known around the city as a local choreographer and performance artist, and also a Fringe Festival favorite. With this latest production, which is a sequel to last year’s ‘Black Wood,’ Montana explores the dark side of humanity, spiritualism, and mysticism.

“I am so stoked to be bringing this coven of bada*s witches back to life again this year,” said Montana in a statement. “Winterborn is a place where audience members are invited to tap into their inner strength and think about the things in their lives worth fighting for. Behind the mysticism and magic is a story of love and survival that we all can relate to.”

The show brings back the heroines from last year, a coven of witches channeling their spellbinding femininity for power, and also features new scorned lovers and creatures of the night, a release notes. But the show officially begins when audience members step into the 75-seat venue (at the Latvian Society of Philadelphia) resembling a realistic dark, eerie, and cold forest, highlighted by snow and ice.

On top of producing and choreographing the show, Montana also spent the last several months designing and building the atmosphere from scratch. Audiences will see the handmade massive set pieces — like a 100′ by 15′ spooky tree mural around a frosty, woodsy landscape with a slaughterhouse, haunted well, elk antlers, fur pelts, thickets, and trees — while at the show.

Performers in the production include Jessica Lynn Daley, Desirée Naval, Danielle Currica, Tiffany Wright, Kat Corbett, Mika Romantic, Frank Leone, and Teddy Fatscher, all of whom are recognizable from past Montana productions.

As the release also notes, the ‘Black Wood’ series is a departure from previous Montana works like ‘Bath House’ and ‘Motel Montana’, which featured glitter, neon, and bold queer-themed performances. For this series, Montana keeps “in line with his dark side”, reminiscent of previous works, including 2019’s ‘Basement‘ , 2017’s ‘Kink Haüs’ and 2016’s ‘Wroughtland.’

‘Black Wood: Winterborn’ is running now through Oct. 31, every Wednesday through Sunday (8 p.m.) at the Latvian Society of Philadelphia (531 N. 7th Street.) Tickets (starting at $49) can be purchased online. Discounted student tickets are available for $45, plus VIP packages and enhanced seating options are also available, beginning at $65. Audiences can also opt for a one-night-only “spooktacular” Halloween performance on Oct. 31 featuring never- before-seen additional content, a post-performance party with the cast and crew, and a swag bag full of ‘Winterborn’ merchandise.

For more information and tickets, visit gunnarmontana.com and eventbrite.com