You can’t always make it to the finest art galleries, or the hottest stage shows, but Laemmle can bring them to you. And this fall, with an expanded selection of art in the art-house, we’re bringing plenty. A-list actors, top choreographers, and one of the world’s most famous paintings are all part of it. Let’s run down some of the nontraditional cinematic programming upcoming.
Thanks to our partners at National Theatre Live, Exhibition on Screen, Trafalgar Releasing and more, here are some of the upcoming cultural programs you can look forward to, and in most cases, prepurchase your tickets.
Sept. 14th – Ballet on Film: The Pygmalion Effect
George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion tells the tale of linguist Henry Higgins attempting to teach Cockney flower saleswoman Eliza Dolittle how to speak with perfect diction. It was famously adapted into a musical as My Fair Lady; now, renowned Russian choreographer Boris Eifman reconceives it as a ballet. Eifman’s not new to adapting literary classics into dance – others have included The Seagull, Don Quixote, Anna Karenina, and Pinocchio. If you’re curious about live ballet filmed for the big screen, this might be a good place to start – it runs a tight 85 minutes, and tells a version of a familiar story.
Sept. 15th – James McNeill Whistler
The painting informally known as Whistler’s Mother, though its actual title is Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1, is one of the best-known American paintings, and has been referenced in books like Lolita and movies like Bean. But how much do you know about the man who painted it? Exhibition on Screen will take you inside the walls of Tate Britain, where the first major Whistler retrospective in 30 years is held. Learn the stories behind not just the iconic likeness of mom, but his other works as well.
Sept. 22nd – NT Live: The Misanthrope
Moliere’s 17th-century comedy about a man who speaks bluntly and critically about everyone’s faults in a polite society might seem oddly dated in an America where it seems every other pundit claims to “tell it like it is.” Yet most of those pundits are male – Martin Crimp turns his modern rewrite of the play on its head by having the title character be a woman, played by Sandra Oh. The critic Alceste becomes novelist Alice, who faces societal pushback for speaking her truth. Filmed live in stage at the National Theatre.
Oct. 22nd – Fallen Angels by Noel Coward
Fans of Downton Abbey may only know Coward as a character in the third film. They owe it to themselves to see his play that scandalized London in 1925 for its depiction of married women, discussing their sexual experiences and fantasies about men other than their husbands. Kelli O’Hara and Rose Byrne play the less-than-Heavenly friends who await the arrival of a mutual ex-lover while their spouses are away. Filmed live at Broadway’s Todd Haimes Theatre.
Nov 5th – NT Live: Golden Boy
Clifford Odet’s 1937 drama, which was adapted into a breakthrough movie for William Holden, remains a depression-era tale in this new revival. Josh O’Connor, who played Prince Charles on The Crown, is Joe, an Italian-American who aspires to be a great violinist but discovers his true talent lies in boxing. As he rises in the sport, a partnership with a mobster may prove to be his undoing. Filmed in London’s Almeida Theatre, Sam Yates production features a live string quartet.
Nov. 19th – Giant: The Play
John Lithgow as Roald Dahl. That, perhaps, is all you need to hear about Giant, which scored the actor a Tony Award. But perhaps a little bit more is in order. Set during the run-up to the publication of The Witches, Giant deals with the recurring charges of anti-Semitism surrounding the author, including a then-recent article that revived the furor anew. As Lithgow himself now prepares to play Dumbledore in the Harry Potter TV series, itself written by an author known for her controversial comments, Giant is a timely reminder that favorite authors can be complicated characters, and the art doesn’t always represent the artist in full.