Silent Sundays at the Playhouse continue September 7th at 2:30pm with The General, a visual masterpiece set in the South during the Civil War directed by and starring Buster Keaton. Keaton is Southern railroad engineer Johnnie Gray. His locomotive, The General, is stole......More
Silent Sundays at the Playhouse continue September 7th at 2:30pm with The General, a visual masterpiece set in the South during the Civil War directed by and starring Buster Keaton. Keaton is Southern railroad engineer Johnnie Gray. His locomotive, The General, is stolen by Union spies with his love, Annabelle, on board. The action sequences that take place between Gray and the soldiers while trying to recapture the locomotive highlight Keaton’s athleticism, who did all of his own stunt work. Keaton spared no expense in the making of The General. The film contains a scene that is considered the most expensive single shot in silent film history. He transformed the little town of Cottage Grove, Oregon to Civil War era Georgia bringing in Civil War artillery, restored railroad cars, and vintage engines. A favorite of Keaton, The General is beautifully filmed. It is “admirably faithful to authenticity in costumes and props-the imagery evokes Matthew’s Brady Civil War photography…its visual scope is not simply impressive, it is also dramatic and at times awe inspiring” (Axmaker, 2014). Accompanying the film on our Mighty Wurlitzer theater pipe organ is Mark Herman. An American Theatre Organ Society Organist of the Year, Mr. Herman tours throughout the country and has performed abroad in Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Our series concludes with shorts Number, Please? & High and Dizzy starring Harold Lloyd on October 5th. Tickets are $12. There are two ways to purchase tickets: 1) In person– Visit the Playhouse Box Office Thursdays from 3:00pm-7:00pm or day of show starting at 1:30pm. 2) Online– Click the ‘Buy Tickets’ button.
