Sierra Madre Playhouse will have fun its Milestone 100th Anniversary in Grand Style with a two-day Silent Film Festival Saturday and Sunday, February 3 and 4, 2024, midday – 8 pm
The historic Sierra Madre Playhouse, which opened as a silent movie show in 1924, celebrates its milestone one centesimal Anniversary in grand fashion. With a two-day silent movie competition on February 3 and 4, 2024, midday to eight pm. the playhouse will make a return to the golden age of cinema, when silent photos reigned supreme and the magnificence, glitz, and mystique of the Roaring 20s captivated the nation.
The multifaceted occasion launches with a free neighborhood occasion and contains 5 iconic silent movies. The movies will function stay accompaniment by celebrated virtuosic pianist Frederick Hodges. “The Bees Knees,” Roaring 20s-inspired gala centennial celebration with a Harold Lloyd double invoice, can also be set to happen. The gala will embrace a champagne dinner, and speakeasy, honoring Suzanne Lloyd, Harold Lloyd’s granddaughter, and trustee of his in depth movie library.
Evolving over the a long time from its film home origins, immediately Sierra Madre Playhouse is a historic landmark. The playhouse options its unique distinctive façade and immediately recognizable neon marquee. Inside, a big selection of daring and distinctive programming, together with theater, music, movie, comedy, and family-friendly choices is introduced.
The wide-ranging weekend-long anniversary celebration launches with an admission-free screening of silent movie comedy shorts by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. The neighborhood occasion is introduced in recognition of and gratitude for the great help Sierra Madre Playhouse has acquired from Southern California audiences over the previous century. (February 3, midday; free, reservations required).
The competition’s options line-up showcases 5 iconic silent movies. Among them are three Harold Lloyd comedies directed by Frank Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, Safety Last! (80 minutes), Hot Water (59 minutes), and Girl Shy (89 minutes), in addition to Helen’s Babies (85 minutes), directed by William Seiter, and Buster Keaton’s Sherlock, Jr. (45 minutes). Virtuosic pianist Frederick Hodges will present stay accompaniment for every cinematic gem. And famous movie historian Lara Gabrielle, the competition’s curator and host, will introduce them. (February 3, 4 pm, 8 pm, and February 4, midday, 4 pm, 8 pm.).
Adding aptitude and glamour to the festivities is “The Bees Knees,” a roaring 20s-themed gala centennial celebration embracing the venue’s roots as a fabled silent film home . The gala will honor Suzanne Lloyd, a movie preservationist who serves as trustee of her grandfather Harold Lloyd’s movie library and in depth 3D library of greater than 200,000 images. The occasion contains admission to a Harold Lloyd double invoice of Safety Last! and Hot Water, plus a round-table dialogue with Suzanne Lloyd.
Between movies, friends are inspired to decorate in festive Nineteen Twenties apparel, corresponding to flapper attire, sequin headbands, pearl necklaces, feather boas, fedoras, and bowler hats. They will parade throughout the road to the restaurant Roe Fusion to take pleasure in a gala champagne dinner and speakeasy with themed cocktails and menu harkening again to the Roaring 20s. (February 3, 4 pm.)
Sierra Madre Playhouse Board Chair David Gordon, who can also be chairing “The Bees Knees” gala celebration, says, “We invite the entire community to the silent film festival to celebrate Sierra Madre Playhouse’s milestone 100th anniversary! With the wide range of events featured, there’s something for everyone. We are thrilled to honor the deep and lasting roots, colorful history, and important cultural role of this magnificent venue that has evolved into the award-winning Sierra Madre Playhouse. It is one of Southern California’s enduring cultural treasures, and today its expansive array of live performances and film programs continue to delight audiences of all ages. The silent film festival is truly a fitting tribute to the ‘Grande Dame’ of Sierra Madre.”
Tickets to Sierra Madre Playhouse’s silent movie competition are :
- $19.24 per screening, in honor of the 12 months the theatre opened,
- or $77 for all 5 function movies,
- and $100 for “The Bees Knees” gala celebration (contains gala champagne dinner and speakeasy, admission to screenings of Harold Lloyd’s iconic movies, Safety Last!, and Hot Water, plus a round-table dialogue with gala honoree Suzanne Lloyd, granddaughter of Harold Lloyd and trustee of his movie library).
For data and tickets on the silent movie competition and “The Bees Knees” gala centennial celebration, please name 626.355.4318 or go to www.sierramadreplayhouse.org.
Sierra Madre Playhouse is situated at 87 West Sierra Madre Boulevard, Sierra Madre, CA 91024.
SCHEDULE FOR THE TWO-DAY SILENT FILM FESTIVAL:
Comedy Shorts – February 3, 2024, 12 PM (FREE COMMUNITY KICKOFF EVENT)
Comedy shorts by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton (60 minutes)
Safety Last! – February 3, 2024, 4 PM
Safety Last! (80 minutes), starring Harold Lloyd, directed by Frank Newmeyer and Sam Taylor. This silent romantic comedy follows nation boy Harold Lloyd (Harold Lloyd) who strikes to the large metropolis to make it huge so he can have his sweetheart (Mildred Davis) be part of him and marry him. Some wild heart-stopping adventures ensue, together with one of the crucial iconic scenes in silent movie historical past. Vanity Fair declares, Safety Last!, with its extraordinary scene of “the guy in the glasses, hanging from the clock” ten tales off the bottom, “has come to symbolize silent film.” The New York Times calls it “one of the most enduring images from the silent film era.”
“The Bees Knees” Gala Centennial Celebration (SPECIAL EVENT) – February 3, 2024, 4 PM
This particular occasion contains admission to the gala champagne dinner and speakeasy, plus screenings of Harold Lloyd’s iconic movies Safety Last!, and Hot Water and a round-table dialogue with gala honoree Suzanne Lloyd, granddaughter of Harold Lloyd and trustee of his movie library and in depth 3D library.
Hot Water – February 3, 2024, 8 PM
Hot Water (59 minutes), starring Harold Lloyd, directed by Frank Newmeyer and Sam Taylor. The episodic film options three distinct segments within the lifetime of Hubby (Harold Lloyd) coping with home life and in-laws.
Girl Shy – February 4, 2024, 12 PM
Girl Shy (89 minutes), starring Harold Lloyd, directed by Frank Newmeyer and Sam Taylor. The movie facilities round Harold Meadows, a tailor’s apprentice who’s extraordinarily shy round girls. He writes a “how to” e book for younger males titled “The Secret of Making Love,” which humorously particulars wooing various kinds of girls, and he goes on a journey to get it printed.
Helen’s Babies – February 4, 2024, 4 PM
Helen’s Babies (85 minutes), starring Baby Peggy, directed by William Seiter; contains Buster Keaton’s works. Harry, attempting to win the love of the Lawrence’s neighbor Alice, results in a collection of comical conditions.
Sherlock, Jr. – February 4, 2024, 8 PM
Sherlock, Jr. (45 minutes), starring and directed by Buster Keaton. Buster, a movie show projectionist and janitor, desires of being a detective. He faces rivalry for the affections of a girl and is mistakenly accused of theft, resulting in a dream sequence the place he turns into Sherlock Jr., a detective in a film.
ABOUT SIERRA MADRE PLAYHOUSE
Sierra Madre Playhouse, a vibrant Southern California cultural hub with a wealthy historical past spanning practically a century, energizes audiences and the neighborhood with distinctive theatrical productions and fascinating stay performances. Hailed as a “jewel” (Pasadena Weekly) and “a landmark theater” (ABC7 Los Angeles), it has garnered great accolades for its various repertoire and thought-provoking schooling and outreach packages curated with social impression in thoughts.
The Los Angeles Times proclaims, “This is theater from the heart.” As one among San Gabriel Valley’s solely performing arts facilities presenting a broad spectrum of efficiency genres, together with theater, music, dance, movie, comedy, and family-friendly productions that includes eminent native and nationwide skilled artists, the treasured inventive beacon attracts audiences from throughout the Southland.
The intimate 99-seat Sierra Madre Playhouse affords an up-close and private connection to performances that resonate deeply, incomes a number of Ovation Awards, NAACP Awards, and LA Times Critics’ Choice honors. It is nestled right into a historic constructing on the inviting Main Street of Sierra Madre, a captivating village within the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains. Retaining its distinctive movie show façade and immediately recognizable marquee, the construction has undergone quite a few transformations since opening in 1910, from furnishings emporium to silent film theatre to the inventive establishment that now stands as a vibrant embodiment of the area’s wealthy cultural legacy. The Sierra Madre Playhouse fosters creativity that aspires to bridge divides and spark dialogue, all whereas celebrating the wealthy tapestry of the American expertise and the enduring pursuit of shared understanding.
ABOUT GALA HONOREE SUZANNE LLOYD
Suzanne Lloyd, the granddaughter of Harold and Mildred Lloyd, was raised at their Beverly Hills property, Greenacres. Harold Lloyd, the grasp comic who produced and starred in additional than 200 movies, got here to personify silent movies as “the man in glasses hanging from the clock.”
Harold acknowledged Suzanne’s aptitude for enterprise, skilled her effectively, and when he died in 1971, made the 19-year-old the trustee of his movie library and 3D library that holds greater than 200,000 images. Suzanne has devoted herself to movie preservation ever since and retains her grandfather’s movies alive by sharing his work with the world.
She launched the newly restored Speedy on the Tribeca Film Festival with DJ Z-Trip, the American Film Institute’s fiftieth Anniversary Festival, the Bologna Film Festival, the San Francisco Silent Film Festival, and in 2015, made seven options and eight shorts accessible on iTunes in varied languages in additional than 15 nations (many for the primary time). In 2016, she did quite a few reveals with the Academy of Motion Picture Art and Sciences with Harold’s extraordinary 3D library, presenting uncommon, 3D images of opening day and the early years of Disneyland. Suzanne and Cinesite Studios are at the moment in partnership working to animate Harold for the primary time.
Suzanne served on the Board of the American Film Institute as a trustee for greater than 20 years and has printed three books. She works carefully with Criterion, The Packard Humanities Institute, and the UCLA Film and Television Archive on the restoration of the library. She has produced the releases of Safety Last!, The Freshman, and Speedy, and is at the moment engaged on The Kid Brother to be launched by the tip of the 12 months.
ABOUT FILM CURATOR LARA GABRIELLE
Lara Gabrielle is a movie author and researcher whose work on Marion Davies has been featured within the Missouri Review and on PBS’s American Experience. She has spoken about Davies at movie festivals and retrospectives worldwide and has served as a marketing consultant on her life and legacy for books, dissertations, and movie tasks. Gabrielle lives in Oakland.