Organist Benjamin Kolodziej will present an authentic screening of Buster Keaton’s 1928 feature-length silent film, Steamboat Bill, Jr. on Tuesday, May 8 at 7:30 pm in the church. This event is fun and appropriate for all ages.
This film, one of the last of the silent era, is a comedic drama involving competing steamboat captains, family disappointments and falling in love, and was largely written and directed by Keaton, a master of comedic timing and deadpan expressions. One original reviewer understatedly characterized the film upon release as “perhaps the best comedy of the year so far,” while the New York Times called it a “sorry affair.” Nonetheless, for decades audiences increasingly have been drawn to this silent movie and it consistently ranks among the favorite and most entertaining silent films in history.
To enhance the authentic feel of the evening, Benjamin Kolodziej will perform an original score written for organ to accompany the film, utilizing popular music contemporary to the era and setting of the film to enhance the drama and comedy, just as an organist would have done upon Steamboat Bill, Jr.’s release in 1928.
Suggested donation: $10
Refreshments to follow
Mr. Kolodziej holds Master of Sacred Music and Master of Theological Studies degrees from Perkins School of Theology, SMU. In addition to classical organ performance, he accompanies silent movies, having played and composed original scores to the Buster Keaton (2012) and Harold Lloyd (2014) film festivals at the Allen Performing Arts Center.
