Monday, April 9, 2018

Paragon Ragtime Orchestra Performs "The Kid" Saturday at The Rowland

Paragon Orchestra last year performing at The Rowland. (credit CDT)
There are few cinematic events that you can attend that have more worldly class than the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra, playing this Saturday at the Rowland Theater in Philipsburg.

If you think you like the silent greats like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, but you've never experienced those masters the way they were meant to be seen, with live musicians actually playing the scores that Chaplin himself wrote, well, then, you've never really seen Chaplin.

Let me explain.  Watch your favorite film but turn off the sound.  How long would it hold your attention?  Which is precisely what The Mountain is telling you.  If you admire Chaplin's "The Kid," which is the feature playing at the Rowland Saturday at 7 p.m. and have only seen it as a "silent movie," then you've never experienced one of the singular joys The Rowland Theater and the Paragon Ragtime Orchestra can offer.

Think of "Jaws" without the murky deep score that sets you on the edge of your seat.  Or, perhaps more apropos, a Bugs Bunny cartoon without Carl Stalling's madcap genius orchestra behind it.

I've been in the balcony of the Rowland watching this performance in years past... marveling as the percussionist matches every kick in the seat of the pants with some odd rim shot, as the orchestra swells into a love sequence, or thrills into some death defying stunt.  The effect is true cinematic magic.  And you, dear reader, have the chance to witness it for yourself.

Just click HERE and click on the ticket link and you can reserve your seat ahead of time.  Just $25 and you will see something you can't get anywhere else.  Many like to sit as close to the orchestra pit (see picture above) as possible.  For myself, I like the long balcony view, just below.


The front row balcony seats at the largest movie screen in Pennsylvania are a treat to for soaking it all in and watching a great film be brought to vivid life.

The Mountain assumes you know what "The Kid" is about, but for the unwashed.... The story begins when a destitute woman leaves a baby with a note in a limousine and then goes off to commit suicide.  Hilarious right?  But the limo is stolen by thieves who deposit the baby by a trash can.  Enter Chaplin's beloved "Tramp" who finds the child and provides a loving home.  I will leave it there so you can enjoy it fully, friends.  Suffice to say we'll share a laugh and a tear.

Chaplin was once described as the most well known person on earth, so great was his fame and his art at the telling of a simple and pathetic story.  Even today, your heart will get stolen.  Trust me.

Just over there, to the right, is a still from the movie.  That's the kid, little Jackie Coogan, way back in 1921 with The Tramp himself.  What's not to love.

The Mountain makes no idle promises.  That $25 ticket you just clicked on will be one of the more pleasant evenings you'll have spent in a year.  Try not to miss it.

The Paragon Ragtime Orchestra is a world-class orchestra, who've performed the Kennedy Center and the Lincoln Center, National Public Radio and the BBC, and world-wide.  If you've been to Disneyland or Disneyworld, you've heard PRO's music as the outdoor theme music at Main Street USA.

You're in for a treat, friends.  Try not to miss this Saturday's splendid concert/film.  You can come back to this tiny corner of the web and thank me later.

Now Hear THIS!!

Streampad