Wintuk (pronounced win-took; amalgamating the English word "winter" with Inupiaq phonetics) was a semi-permanent and seasonal residency show created by Cirque du Soleil. Wintuk played seasonally from 2007 to 2011 at the former WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden (now the Hulu Theater) entertainment complex in New York. The show ran for ten weeks each winter holiday season during the 2007 to 2011 period. Previews of Wintuk began November 1, 2007 and the world premiere and inaugural season was launched on November 7, 2007. Wintuk was a 90-minute show with a 20-minute intermission. Its initial premier season ran from November 7, 2007 to January 6, 2008. It returned for three more engagements with the final season running from November 17, 2010 through January 2, 2011.

Storyline

A young boy named Jamie lives in a city that has entered the season of winter. Although the season has brought ice, long shadows and intense cold, the most important arrival has not come: there is no snow. Jamie takes it on himself to try to discover what has caused this. On his quest, he interacts with a variety of characters - ranging from high-energy urban street characters, to giant dogs, to talking marionettes. He is also joined by the shy man known as Wimpy, the playful young girl known as Shadowgirl, and a lost Shaman. This adventure brings the characters to an imaginary arctic world known as Wintuk – an environment without sunlight. Jamie and his friends find themselves surrounded by giant ice creatures and the People of the North. When the sun finally returns to Wintuk, Jamie and his friends are transported home, flying on the back of a giant crane. This generates a snowstorm, and snow finally falls on the town.

Cast

Acts

Music

The music of Wintuk was composed by Simon Carpentier, who also composed the music of Cirque du Soleil's 2003 production Zumanity. Cirque du Soleil released a studio album based on the show's original score on November 1, 2007. The tracks are listed below.