Contact: Ally Bates
Tel: 203.520.7759
Email: ally@thebijoutheatre.com

A Double Dose of Vincent Price at Bridgeport’s Bijou Theatre
Bedlam at the Bijou Returns with two of the horror legend’s most memorable films.

February 21, 2013 – BRIDGEPORT, CT – In the wake of Valentine’s Day, Brian Solomon of The Vault of Horror will be showing major love for horror icon Vincent Price in the latest edition of his double feature series, BEDLAM AT THE BIJOU: The “Price” Is Right. On Thursday, February 21, beginning at 7pm, The Bijou Theatre in historic downtown Bridgeport will be the site for a Price love-fest that will feature two of the actor’s finest pictures, Theatre of Blood and The Abominable Dr. Phibes.

Vincent Price was more than a legend of the horror film genre. He was its ultimate ambassador for all the things that go bump in the night. On this night, the Bijou pays tribute to the man who filled our hearts with fright and made us love the dark, and did it all with a wry smile and an irresistible laugh. By the 1970s, Price was the elder statesman of horror, and as such, made some of the most memorable films of his entire career. In Theatre of Blood, he gives us the implacable Richard Lionheart, a hammy
Shakespearean out for bloody revenge against his worst critics. And then comes Dr. Phibes, the role Vincent Price was born to play. Pure joy from beginning to end, The Abominable Dr. Phibes may just be the ultimate Vincent Price picture, and just about the most fun you can have at the movies.

“Vincent Price was a phenomenon, and his movies have brought joy to so many horror fans,” said Brian Solomon. “I picked these two films because they really epitomize what he was all about as an actor, and why he had and has such a passionate fan following. It will be a pleasure to share an evening with a room of both Price fanatics and soon-to-be Price fanatics!”

Solomon will be joined by special guest Kevin Maher, the Emmy-nominated comedy writer behind 92YTribeca’s acclaimed Kevin Geeks Out series. A fellow Price aficionado, Kevin will also be bringing several other highly entertaining Price-related clips to show during intermission, including the rare and beloved “Vincent”—an animated short that represents the first film made by visionary director Tim Burton.

As moviegoers have come to expect from BEDLAM AT THE BIJOU, there will indeed be a trivia contest, although Brian is keeping the topic a secret for now. He only hints that patrons should pay close attention to the movies. There will be prizes for the winners.

This is the sixth monthly installment of BEDLAM AT THE BIJOU, with previous double features focusing on such topics as giant monsters, zombies, Dracula and Frankenstein. BEDLAM AT THE BIJOU is scheduled to return in March with a night of so-bad-they’re-good B-movies.

BEDLAM AT THE BIJOU: The “Price” Is Right takes place at The Bijou Theatre at 275 Fairfield Avenue in Bridgeport. The evening begins at 7pm, and tickets are $10. Call 203-332-3228 or go the thebijoutheatre.com for more information.

The Princess Place to open in Bridgeport.
The Bijou Theatre Announces its Fairytale Princess Experience.

BRIDGEPORT, CT—It’s the once-in-a-lifetime…of a lifetime! As the first installment in the new Children’s Programming at The Bijou Theatre, The Princess Place will open its royal doors on Saturday, March 16th.

Beginning in March, The Princess Place will offer an enchanting Princess experience—Step inside the magical carriage lobby and theatre filled with fairytale whimsy. Be charmed by this season’s musical presentation, Eugenia, A Princess Story—The Bijou’s very own reluctant princes tale. And be greeted by all of the royal Princesses.

After Eugenia takes the stage and as the regal bugle sounds, the storybook fantasies continue as guests of The Bijou Kingdom are greeted by the Belles of the Ball. A missing glass slipper and a kiss from a true love bring all of these fairytale Princesses to life for individual photos and autographs with guests. The Princess Place…where smiles fill your heart.

Saturdays beginning March 16th two performances each day at 11:00 AM and 2:30PM. Doors will open one half hour prior to each performance.

INDIVIDUAL ADMISSION
($20.00) Includes admission for one person. Applies to all ages and all seats.

GROUP PRICING
(10% Discount) Groups of fifteen (15) or more who reserve theater or cabaret seating will receive a 10% discount off each ticket.

CONCESSION PACKAGE
($15.00) Includes one (1) large popcorn, one (1) non-alcoholic drink, and one (1) princess crown.

PRECIOUS PRINCESS PARTY PACKAGE
Includes premiere cabaret seating, beverages, pizza, cupcakes and a Princess Birthday serenade. Email princessplace@thebijoutheatre.com for pricing and availability.

To purchase tickets online click here. To inquire about a birthday party or make group reservations, please call the box office at 203-332-3228. See you at The Princess Place!

Royal Princess Parties is not affiliated with any trademark or copyright.
All Characters are look-alikes and impersonators.

At first I assumed “Liberal Arts” was going to be another in a long line of self-indulgent white-guy writer/director/star shenanigans (Zach Braff, I’m looking at you. Woody Allen, you’re cool.)  And to some extent it is. But there’s something authentic and sweet about it (albeit in an privileged white-guy sort of way).

There is both a deep wisdom and rabid stupidity in every stage of life.  “Liberal Arts” is about the intelligence of youth – open inspiration, faith in endless possibilities, and the nonsense and pretention of it all. “Liberal Arts” is about the struggle to retain the wisdom of youth without being stunted by it.

When I was 18 and brutally depressed – you know, in that romantic, existential sort of way – I chatted with a bushy-bearded Psychologist. His office was surrounded by different types of chairs.  He told me to picture myself at each different age that I had been and would be in the various chairs, like a convention of me(s) having a chat. I think I literally scoffed. I’m not even sure what scoffing sounds like, but I’m positive I did it. But ever since then, I haven’t been able to get the concept of those chairs out of my head.  There is both wisdom to hold onto from childhood and youth and to seek out in adulthood and old age.

As far as the whole movie review thing goes, Radnor creates likable and funny characters with a detailed texture that brings them to life. Elizabeth Olsen is adorable and clever as Zibby, an inspired, precocious college sophomore. Zibby makes me think of this great article, “Flick Chicks,” that Mindy Kaling wrote for The New Yorker about ridiculous constructions of women in Romantic Comedies. Zac Effron makes a couple of comical cameos, as does a scene-stealing Allison Janney. A moment to look out for in “Liberal Arts” is a post-coital argument between Josh Radnor and Allison Janney that ends in them flipping the mutual bird. Oh, how I madly love Allison Janney (any “West Wing” fans out there?).

“Liberal Arts” is definitely worth a see.  It sets in motion a worthwhile reflection about ones college days and current days, and it’s an all-around good time.

WNYC Conversation with Radnor and Olsen

Rador on the Sundance 2012 Red Carpet

“Liberal Arts” “Twilight” Argument” Scene

Trailer for Radnor’s First Film: HappyThankYouMorePlease

P.S. I adore “Garden State” and Zac Braff, for the record.

“Monty Python and The Holy Grail” is galloping into The Bijou Theatre this Wednesday (accompanied by the sound of coconuts clapping together).

The Pythons have often been referred to as the Beatles of Comedy – and not just by virtue of their goofy British accents. Monty Python’s impact on comedy is akin to The Beatles influence on music. Their surrealist sensibilities and unrelentingly ballsy humor play a huge role in contemporary comedy. Even now, their work seems to be in the vanguard – such as when they brought dead Python Graham Chapman’s ashes onto the stage on the Live At Aspen special and “accidentally” knocked them over.

In “The Holy Grail” the absurdity starts in the opening – when they sack the people making the credits three times before the film starts. As is the way with all art, the avant guard becomes the norm. Bill Maher recently pointed out that when Monty Python’s “The Life of Brian” was released in 1979, there was significant protest due to is “blasphemous” nature; yet at the 2012 Olympics, “Always Look On The Bright Side of Life” was belted out by Eric Idle, accompanied by the entire stadium crowd.

Monty Python and The Holy Grail” Trailer/ voice over tests

Wednesday, the night before Thanksgiving, is the unofficial holiday pack-into-awful-hometown-bars-and-make-small-talk-with-people-from-highschool…day. This great SNL skit pretty much sums it up:

BUT Instead of being a “bardine” (packing into a crowded bar like a sardine), come get a healthy dose of laughter this Wednesday night. Laughter is good for you – and before the clogged arteries and raised blood pressure associated with Thanksgiving – seeing Monty Python is really the only responsible course of action.

Some highlights from the flick:

“I fart in your general direction!”

“I’ll bite your head off”

“She turned me into a newt!”

“Help! Help! I’m being repressed!”

Brilliant Animation

PS: ” A Liar’s Autobiography,” a film adaptation of late Python Graham Chapman’s fictionalized autobiography, has just been released!  The film is a collaboration between fourteen animation studios and the five remaining Pythons.  Cannot wait to see this!!!

I find myself praising how awesomely bad old trailers are yet again…This one is the Shakespeare of bad trailers.

“Blondes make the best victims,” Hitchcock famously said. “The Birds” is a film that is difficult to separate from the biography of its creator. Hitchcock was both physically and emotionally abusive to the film’s star, Tippi Hedren during the making of “The Birds.” Hitchcock’s troubling and fascinating relationships with his lead actresses are detailed in Donald Spoto’s book “Spellbound By Beauty: Alfred Hitchcock and His Leading Ladies.” The new HBO film, “The Girl,” specifically explores Hitchcock and Hedron’s relationship.

Hitchcock actually had Hedren attacked by real birds in the final scene of “The Birds”, only telling her about it right before shooting. You know the scene; She goes up to the attic by herself to check on a noise and becomes trapped as she realizes that birds have filled the room. When her character is rescued she seems convincingly, almost too convincingly, traumatized. Knowing that the actress was truly attacked, abused and exhausted changes ones reading of the film. I can’t help but link the claustrophobia of the boarded up house to how trapped Hedron must have felt in her situation.

I’ve found myself struggling with the possibility of separating art from it’s creator before (I’m looking’ at you, Picasso) and I’ve come to the conclusion that troubling biography never illegitimizes a work of art, but rather complicates our reading of it. “The Birds,” becomes ripe for discourse about gender constructs, power dynamics and misogyny.

Talk amongst yourselves…

Great NPR clip about “The Girl”

Read the short story “The Birds” is based on by Daphne Du Maurier

AFI Tippi Hedren talking about The Birds

“…Before I can live with other folks I’ve got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”
– Atticus Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird

I called my father today to tell him that I was writing about To Kill a Mockingbird in this week’s blog. I had remembered him saying some years ago that Gregory Peck’s portrayal of Atticus Finch played a significant role in constructing his concept of what it meant to be a good man. He isn’t alone in this sentiment, AFI lists Atticus as the top movie hero of all time.

My father is teaching To Kill a Mockingbird to his sophomore classes this year, just like thousands of other English teachers across the country will, just as they have since the book was written over 50 years ago. School is a powerful mechanism for socialization, a venue for creating shared cultural contexts; the story of To Kill a Mockingbird has existed in the collective consciousness of over two generations of Americans.

Check out one of my favorite scenes from the film

For the 50th anniversary of the book’s release a few years back, NPR’s Lynn Neary explored the lasting relevance of the story. This year is the 50th anniversary of the film’s release.  It has been screened and honored at The White House as well as all over the country. The 50-year anniversary of the film has encouraged discussion about the state of race relations in America today.

How is my reading of this book different than my mother’s, and my grandmother’s, and one day my daughter’s reading of it? Racism looks different today than it has before. Today it is realized in Trayvon Martin rather than Tom Robinson. Misogyny is often still experienced in the form of domestic abuse just as Mayella Ewell was subject to it in the story. Without knowing the narrative of To Kill a Mockingbird, or other accounts of that era, we cannot understand the legacy of racism we are entrenched in today. We cannot apply the lessons of the past to new, pernicious forms of prejudice.

The film itself is gorgeous of course, regardless of the important values espoused and vital history it captures. Gregory Peck is always Atticus Finch to me, no matter where else I’ve seen him. His velvety voice and humble strength are synonymous with the character. The film has some unbelievable performances by children. Even as an adult woman I can’t help but look up to Scout’s bravery, kindness and sense of self. Horton Foote, who adapted Harper Lee’s book into the Screenplay for the film, won the Oscar for best adaptation. The film is still upheld as one of the few book-to-movie experiences that no one can complain too much about (I’m lookin’ at you Harry Potter movies…)

If you are interested in Harper Lee, the enigmatic Author of the autobiographical story who has still not published another work since To Kill a Mockingbird, you should check out the new PBS documentary Hey Boo, or the book Scout, Atticus and Boo, or read about Harper Lee’s Sister.

Some more great links:

AV CLUB Article
Hilarious Robot Chicken Book Report
Seriously…. How Bad Are Old Trailers?