FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Great Barrington, Mass.—The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center has added two screened series to its ongoing schedule: 100 Years of Movies at the Mahaiwe, and summer encores from the Met Opera Live in HD.
100 Years of Movies at the Mahaiwe
From the arrival of silent films at the dawn of the motion picture industry in 1914 to the addition of the Mahaiwe’s iconic movie marquee in 1930 and the movie legends and critics who have viewed private previews or appeared live on the stage, the Mahaiwe is rich with cinematic history. An early projectionist filed a film patent from the theater in 1914. Famed film critic Pauline Kael wrote reviews for The New Yorker across the street after watching from the seats of the Mahaiwe. And the theater today is a cornerstone venue for the Berkshire International Film Festival, founded in 2006, which brings movie luminaries to the Mahaiwe stage every year.
Join film director and educator Deborah Reinisch for a century of movies at the Mahaiwe, 1914 through 2014. Deborah will introduce a classic film from each decade, each dated 10 years apart, highlighting what was going on in Hollywood, the Berkshires and the world.
The first four events are scheduled this June and July. The first event is free with registration.
The Mahaiwe will screen the silent Charlie Chaplin film Tillie’s Punctured Romance (1914) and Buster Keaton comedy The Navigator (1924) in a double feature on Friday, June 7 at 7 p.m. The first ever full-length slapstick comedy, Tillie’s Punctured Romance follows a con-man’s pursuit of marriage, while The Navigator finds two unwitting socialites aboard an empty passenger ship.
The theater will screen Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night (1934) on Friday, June 21 at 7 p.m. Clark Gable stars opposite Claudette Colbert in this early romantic comedy about a reporter’s pursuit of a runaway heiress. The film is the first of only three films to win all five major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
The Mahaiwe will screen film noir Double Indemnity (1944) on Saturday, July 13 at 7 p.m. Insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) colludes with a cunning client in an escalating scheme of fraud and murder. Directed by Billy Wilder and co-written by Raymond Chandler, the film also features Barbara Stanwyck and Edward G. Robinson, and was nominated for seven Academy Awards.
The theater will screen Elia Kazan’s crime drama On the Waterfront (1954) on Friday, July 26 at 7 p.m. Marlon Brando plays Terry Malloy, an ex-prize fighter turned dockworker at odds with corruption in his union. The film also marks Eva Marie Saint’s screen debut and won eight out of 12 Oscar nominations, four Golden Globes and three New York Film Critics Circle Awards.
Remaining titles are to-be-announced.
Deborah Reinisch has produced and directed award-winning movies and series for network, cable and public television, including the Emmy Award and National Board of Review winner Andre’s Mother. Her recent directing credits include Bull, Madam Secretary, and NCIS: New Orleans for CBS. Prior to her work in television, Deborah worked as first assistant director on many feature films, including Blood Simple and Raising Arizona for Joel and Ethan Coen. Deborah taught directing, production and film history at NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Brooklyn College/Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, and Columbia University. This spring, she taught The New American Cinema 1967-1980 at Berkshire OLLI.
Tickets go on sale Wednesday, May 22 at noon; see Box Office information below. Tickets are $8 or $5 for ages 12 and under. Mahaiwe Movies are sponsored by BUCHWALD.
Met Summer Encores
The Mahaiwe will screen Rossini’s La Cenerentola on Wednesday, July 31 at 1 p.m. Rossini’s charming take on the Cinderella story returns to cinemas, starring mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato and tenor Juan Diego Flórez in Cesare Lievi’s whimsical production. Fabio Luisi conducts. Originally transmitted May 10, 2014.
The theater will screen Puccini’s Turandot on Wednesday, August 7 at 1 p.m. In this 2016 Met performance of Puccini’s extravagant masterpiece, soprano Nina Stemme and tenor Marco Berti star in a larger-than-life staging from legendary director Franco Zeffirelli. Paolo Carignani conducts. Originally transmitted January 30, 2016.
The theater will screen The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess on Wednesday, August 14 at 1 p.m. In an unforgettable Met performance from 2020, one of America’s greatest operas returns, featuring soprano Angel Blue and bass-baritone Eric Owens alongside a phenomenal ensemble cast. David Robertson conducts. Originally transmitted February 1, 2020.
Tickets go on sale Wednesday, May 22 at noon; see Box Office information below. Tickets are $25 or $10 for ages 21 and under. The Met Opera Live in HD at the Mahaiwe is sponsored by Berkshire Money Management.
Box Office
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.
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 26,000 students from 75 different schools have benefited from the Mahaiwe’s school-time performances and residencies. For more information, see mahaiwe.org.
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