Fans of the Blackbird Theatre may remember that last year, the company offered a holiday-themed show called “If Only in My Dreams”; and a show with that same title is on the Blackbird’s roster this year. But according to Blackbird co-founder/actor Barton Bund, patrons should expect something different this time around.

“There are some really significant changes, actually,” said Bund.

Last year’s show featured Bund and actor Will Myers — in the guise of writers Truman Capote (“A Christmas Memory”), Roch Carrier (“The Sweater”), Jack Kerouac (an excerpt from “Visions of Gerard”), and Dylan Thomas (“A Child’s Christmas in Wales”) — performing holiday-themed monologues.

This year’s edition of the show will also feature holiday writings by Sherman Alexie and Henry Miller, and won’t offer the Kerouac piece; plus, Patricia Wheeler, who now lives in Los Angeles, is back in Michigan to direct “If Only” 2.0.

“When (Myers and I) went back to it, we talked about how we liked what we did last year, so we’re keeping the Roch Carrier, the Truman Capote, and the Dylan Thomas,” said Bund. “The Kerouac piece was a bit heavy and depressing, though, so we decided that while it’s a good one to keep in the bag, maybe we should find something a bit more dynamic.”

Gayle Martin will perform songs in the intervals between pieces, as she did last year, but the Blackbird’s new home in the intimate SH\aut\ Cabaret and Gallery space and the show’s new director will necessarily bring a different energy to the show.

“There’s a tougher edge on this one,” said Bund. “But it’s also — it’s emotional stuff.”

The Alexie passage comes from his breakthrough book, “The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven”; and while we don’t normally associate Miller with Christmas, Bund found a passage in “Tropic of Cancer” that tells the story of Miller as a lost soul who’s living on the streets during the Depression, and during the holidays.

“It’s a bit like ‘Gift of the Magii,’ but the Henry Miller version,” said Bund.

What was compelling about last year’s “If Only” — as well as this year’s — is that although many people return each year to Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol,” other holiday-themed pieces by literary greats are often lost to time.

“I don’t know why Dickens stayed with people the way it does,” said Bund. “ … We like it, but frankly, Christmas is not a happy time for a lot of people. The days leading up to it can be brutal. Yes, the day itself can be relaxing and nice, but for a lot of people, it’s just a tough time, with both good and bad memories associated with Christmas. And it doesn’t seem fair to neglect the broad range of emotions people have about the holiday. It really does make the highs higher and lows lower.”

Jenn McKee is the entertainment digital journalist for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at jennmckee@annarbor.com or 734-623-2546, and follow her on Twitter @jennmckee.