Thursday, October 18, 2007

Thursday’s Palace #1: The Lafayette


I've chosen the awesome Lafayette Theater in downtown Suffern, NY as my inaugural Thursday Palace. You can read all about it here at their official site and here at a surprisingly in-depth Wikipedia entry; suffice for me to say that while Suffern is a bit out of the way for most frantic Manhattanites, it is well worth the fare and hour train ride to reclaim the nearly-forgotten institution of the Saturday matinee.

The Lafayette is in the midst of its popular
fall/winter Big Screen Classics series, Saturday mornings from September 8 to December 15, showtime at 11:30a.m. Doors open at 11 a.m.: come early for pre-show music by Jeff Barker on the Mighty Wurlitzer! They are very good about getting pristine prints whenever possible, by the way, so don’t expect a grindhouse experience. Top-notch film exhibition, a classic repertoire, a stunning auditorium, fresh hot popcorn and Wurlitzer serenades. Watching movies doesn't get any better than that (so get off the couch).

Last but not least, the Lafayette's annual Horror-Thon kicks off tomorrow night with Ed Wood’s Plan Nine From Outer Space plus what is advertised as Ed Wood’s home movies. And that’s kinda scary, yes. You might also want to drop in on Sunday at 2 p.m. for Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein and a gander at the original Dracula cape worn by Bela Lugosi in the horror-comedy, which will be on display!

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