Bring your family and friends with you on Friday, Jan. 15, at 7 p.m., to South Congregational Church, 242 Salmon Brook St., for a night at the movies.
The silent film, with Buster Keaton as director and protagonist, is The Navigator, released by Metro-Goldwyn in 1924. The amazing Jason Roberts, in full improvisatory mode, will provide the music on the church’s Austin organ.
Fast becoming an annual event on the Bruce Porter Memorial Music Series, these classic silent films provide a welcome break in the darkness of the long winter months. The snow date is already set for Friday, Jan. 29, also at 7 p.m. The film runs just under an hour, so even young people with early bedtimes can enjoy a night out with their friends.
Sponsored by the Music Ministry at South Church and an Artscape Grant from the Greater Hartford Arts Council, admission to the movie is free, but donations to help the series continue are always welcome. The church is wheelchair accessible from the side entrance.
Jason Roberts, organist extraordinaire, returns to Granby to work his magic with a new cast of characters. Roberts has a pocketful of old-time music and an imagination to meet the challenge. In the tradition of silent film accompanists, he manages to follow the storyline of these wonderful old films with improvised music for each character and scene. Sometimes his energetic musical endeavors are even more exciting than what is happening on the screen!
If you missed this event two years ago, with Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid, or last year, with Buster Keaton’s Steamboat Bill Jr., you are in for a wonderful surprise. If the weather is threatening, check WFSB Channel 3 and NBC’s Channel 4 or the church website: southchurchgranby.org.