As FestivalSouth opens its 15th season with the Broadway hit “Jersey Boys” through Saturday, June 1, the celebration follows with a special free FestivalMusic and Artie Events for Families collaboration, “The Not So Silent Movie,” featuring Dr. Douglas Rust at the organ, accompanying a double feature of Charlie Chaplain films, “Easy Street” and “The Adventurer.”
This wonderful afternoon of classic movies is a summer treat for the entire family and children of all ages. The films begin at 3 p.m. in the historic Saenger Theatre on Sunday, June 2 but patrons are encouraged to come early or stay late and visit the Pocket Museum and enjoy all the art in the Downtown Hattiesburg alley.
Rust is a regular featured performer at the annual Plaza Classic Film Festival in Texas. A faculty member at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) School of Music, he has been accompanying silent films for nearly a decade. At the Saenger, he will perform on the historic 778-pipe Robert Morton organ.
By the release of “Easy Street” in 1917, Chaplin had established the appearance and basic personality traits of his famous Tramp character. The Tramp’s escapades include comic battles between The Derelict and The Bully. Chaplin’s acrobatic abilities are displayed as he runs, turns, ducks, crawls under a bed, and slides down a drainpipe to escape and finally overcome his adversaries.
In another 1917 release, Chaplin plays a convict who escapes from the penitentiary and its guards in “The Adventurer.” During his flight, he is mistaken for a well-to-do person and attends an elaborate party where mayhem ensues. All good things must come to an end, however, when the guards learn where he is, and off Charlie goes again.
Don’t miss this fabulous trip back in time at the historic Saenger Theater and meet-and-greet Artie and enjoy the incredible adventures of the Pocket Museum before and after the show.
For more information, visit festivalsouth.org.