OK, so it's not, strictly speaking, literary. But neither, strictly speaking, are we. Ladies and gentlemen! The New Haven Review announces its first evening of silent movies, accompanied by live music, this Sunday evening at 7 pm. It will take place in the gorgeous old vaudeville theater inside Lyric Hall, at 827 Whalley Avenue—which, if you haven't seen it too recently, has been renovated so beautifully that it looks like something from czarist Russia. It is worth the $5 admission just to spend time inside that room.
The evening will consist of two short movies—each of them about 10 minutes long. The first one is a Georges Melies film called The Doctor's Secret; the second is an unbelievably collapsed version of Alice in Wonderland. You want to come just to see these movies. The music is provided by Dr. Caterwaul's Cadre of Clairvoyant Claptraps, which sounds like this. (Full disclosure: Your correspondent is a member of this band.)
But wait, there's more! In addition, there will be some live music performed by the Claptraps and Tyler Bussey, a quietly soulful CT singer who reinterprets old songs in a style reminiscent, to this correspondent, of Sam Amidon. It's great stuff. Probably there will be a brief intermission, making for a thoroughly pleasant evening's entertainment. And if we really get our act together, we may bring appropriate refreshments.
Hope to see you all there!