FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Great Barrington, Mass.—The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center announces a series of classic movies and an HD broadcast from London’s National Theatre to round out its programming this winter. The theater will screen Breaking Away (1979) on January 21, Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012) on February 4, Shakespeare in Love (1998) on February 14, and My Neighbor Totoro (1988) on February 25. An encore screening of Straight Line Crazy from the National Theatre will be held on February 11. These programs join the Met Opera Live in HD: Giordano’s Fedora, on January 14, and Warren Miller’s Daymaker, on February 18, in the Mahaiwe’s January-February lineup.
Movies
The Mahaiwe will screen the 1979 coming-of-age comedy-drama Breaking Away (rated PG) on Saturday, January 21 at 7 p.m. Breaking Away follows four teenagers from Bloomington, Indiana, in their year after graduating high school. Tensions rise with local university students, and a romance builds between the two factions. Writer Steve Tesich’s script earned this film the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the film received four other nominations, including Best Picture, while helping to launch the acting careers of Dennis Quaid and Daniel Stern.
The independent drama film Beasts of the Southern Wild (rated PG-13) from 2012 will screen Saturday, February 4 at 7 p.m. Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis) is a six-year-old from a Louisiana bayou community called the “Bathtub.” Faced with her father’s fading health and rising sea levels, Hushpuppy must navigate challenges from both immediate conditions and ancient lore. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards.
The theater will present a special screening of Shakespeare in Love (1998, rated R) for Valentine’s Day, Tuesday, February 14 at 7 p.m. History’s most-known playwright is the subject of a story himself in this period comedy-drama by director John Madden. With an all-star cast of Gwyneth Paltrow, Joseph Fiennes, Geoffrey Rush, Colin Firth, Ben Affleck, and Judi Dench, Shakespeare in Love explores a fictional romance during the author’s writing of Romeo and Juliet.
Hayo Miyazaki’s My Neighbor Totoro (1988, rated G) will screen on Saturday, February 25 at 7 p.m. The anime favorite centers around a family’s move to the country, and two sisters’ adventures in this mysterious new environment.
Tickets to Mahaiwe movies are $8 and $5 for children 12 and under when applicable. Mahaiwe movies are sponsored by BUCHWALD.
Straight Line Crazy encore
By popular demand, the Mahaiwe will present an encore screening of Straight Line Crazy from London’s National Theatre in HD on Saturday, February 11 at 7 p.m. Now garnering rave reviews on Broadway, the production features Ralph Fiennes as New York City developer Robert Moses, recorded from a performance at the Bridge Theatre in London.
For forty uninterrupted years, Moses exploited those in office through a mix of charm and intimidation. Motivated at first by a determination to improve the lives of the city’s workers, he created parks, bridges and 627 miles of expressway to connect the people to the great outdoors.
Tickets are $17 and $10 for everyone ages 21 and under.
Purchase tickets
Tickets go on sale Friday, December 2 at 12 noon. Tickets can be purchased online at mahaiwe.org, or by calling or visiting the Box Office, 413-528-0100, on Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
The Mahaiwe accepts ConnectorCare/WIC/EBT cards — four free tickets to movies or HD broadcasts per individual. Learn more at mahaiwe.org/visit/ticketing-offers.
For the latest COVID safety protocols, visit mahaiwe.org/update.
About the Mahaiwe
Located in downtown Great Barrington, Mass., the Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center is the year-round presenter of world-class music, dance, theater, classic films, Live in HD broadcasts, and arts education programs for the southern Berkshires and neighboring regions. The intimate jewel box of a theater opened in 1905. Since 2005, the performing arts center has hosted over 1,500 events and welcomed over half a million people through its doors. More than 22,000 students from 73 different schools have benefited from the Mahaiwe’s school-time performances and residencies. For more information, see mahaiwe.org.
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