Art House Theater Day Returns To Red River​

CONCORD, NH — Red River Theatres is participating again in the 2nd Annual Art House Theater Day, Sunday, Sept. 24, 2017, according to a press statement. It is the only theatre in New Hampshire to take part in the event. More than 150 cinemas nationwide will participate in this celebration of the art house theater experience.

"We're excited to open our doors for the second Art House Theater Day," said Jemi Broussard, Red River Theatres' Membership Coordinator, "to share the variety of what happens here at our local art house cinema! Besides running our regular programming, we're inviting patrons to celebrate the Art of Dance in "Martha & Niki," host families for a rare big-screen opportunity to see "The Wizard of Oz," and sing with an entire audience, along with young actors from Concord's own award-winning Children's Theatre Project. Plus, we'll be sneak previewing a new indie film with one of my favorites, Harry Dean Stanton, whose career spanned 60 years until his death last week. Our celebration of the power of movies to effect change will be represented by "Titicut Follies." And audiences will enjoy comparing U.S. and Russian driving experiences in "The Road Movie." (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Concord NH Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

Members of Red River Theatres will receive free medium popcorn with each ticket purchased during the day.

Red River Theatres, at 11 S. Main St. in Concord, NH, located in the Capitol Commons Building, will begin Art House Theater Day at 1 p.m. in its intimate Jaclyn Simchik Cinema with "Martha & Niki," which also will be shown a second time at 4:15 p.m. This Swedish documentary follows two African-Swedish girls as they take the international street dancing world by storm (The film is appropriate for ages 14-adult).

At 2:50 p.m. and 6 p.m the 22-seat venue within Red River Theatres also will host two viewings of "The Road Movie," a compilation of video footage shot exclusively via dashboard cameras in Russian automobiles, capturing a comet crashing down to Earth, a forest fire, and angry motorists taking road rage to wholly new and unexpected levels.

At 1:30 p.m., the classic "The Wizard of Oz," (1939, starring Judy Garland) will be presented as a sing-along in partnership with The Children's Theatre Project of The "90 Years New" Community Players of Concord, NH. The event will include opportunities for photos with characters from CTP's upcoming stage production on Oct. 13-14, for which tickets will be on sale in the lobby (Not only do tickets for the sing-along film event include sweet treat giveaway from Red River Theatres, but one lucky attendee will receive vouchers redeemable for a family 4-pack of tickets to the October stage performance at the Concord City Auditorium). Costumes are encouraged!

At 3:45 p.m. in the Lincoln Financial Cinema, one of the most beloved character actors in the history of cinema, 91-year-old Harry Dean Stanton, stars in "Lucky," along with David Lynch (as an actor), recent recipient of The MacDowelll Colony in Peterborough's MacDowell Medal. Lucky, a 90-year-old atheist (Stanton) has outlived and out-smoked his contemporaries, and as he comes to terms with his own mortality, he searches for ever-elusive enlightenment.

Then at 5:45 p.m., also in the Lincoln Financial Cinema, will be a 50th Anniversary presentation of "Titicut Follies," famed documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman's influential expose of conditions at the State Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Bridgewater, MA. Accompanying the film on-screen will be a short interview with Wiseman, now 87, conducted by filmmaker Wes Anderson specifically for Art House Theater Day audiences. Following the documentary will be a brief commentary on “Treating Mental Illness—Then and Now.”

Staff will be on-hand throughout the day to answer questions about theater operations, and welcome suggestions.

"It’s going to be such a special day to celebrate art house theaters across the country, and our own indie cinema here in Concord” Events Manager Katie Mosher added, "and I personally can't wait to hear our audience sing 'Over the Rainbow' or 'Ding Dong, The Witch is Dead!' Plus I hope attendees check out the renovated Simchik Cinema, for which we were still raising funds during last year's Art House Theater Day."

The Art House Convergence, an international consortium of independent, community-based, mission-driven movie theaters, created Arthouse Theater Day, inspired by the success of Record Store Day and its commitment to promoting independent record shops. Similarly, on a single day, Independent Cinemas across the nation will be opening their doors, screening special films and offering special promotions.

For more on Art House Theater Day nationally, visit arthousetheaterday.org/

Tickets for each program or film are available at redrivertheatres.org.

Submitted by Red River Theatres.

Caption: Harry Dean Stanton and David Lynch in a still from Stanton's final film, "Lucky." Courtesy of Red River Theatres.