News
May 9 - 15
Thursday, May 8th, 2008
John Sayles' latest film, Honeydripper, begins at the Colonial this Friday and runs through next Thursday. On Friday night, come early (around 7pm) for a free concert before the film. All students will be admitted for FREE on Friday night only.
For our kids' program at 2pm on Saturday we're very happy to welcome Fiddlekicks for their premiere performance at the Colonial, consisting of a live band and 13 dancers doing clogging of all different styles. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for members of the theatre and kids. This is bound to be a lively and impressive performance!
Please note that the 200 block of Bridge Street (in front of the Colonial) will be closed this Saturday for the Second Annual Celtic Street Fair. Saturday is also opening day of the Phoenixville Farmers' Market, so it should be a great day to be in town, with lots to do. Please plan your driving time and parking time accordingly. Yesterday, I added a pdf that you can download from the Directions & Parking section of our website to help with your trip to Phoenixville. Thanks to Tom Bromley of Centre Grafik for his great design!
On Saturday night, the Celtic Street Fair culminates with a concert by Brother and Scythian at the Colonial at 7:30pm. Doors will open at 6:30pm. Tickets are $22 and will be available at the door.
This Sunday at 2pm we continue our month of classic Sherlock Holmes films with a double feature - The Secret Weapon (1942) and The Scarlet Claw (1944). The total running time for this program is about 142 min. Film prints courtesy of the UCLA Film Archive.
On Sunday at 5pm join the Theatre Organ Society of the Delaware Valley for a tribute concert to former TOSDV president Harry Linn. The program is free and will include a presentation about the Wurlitzer that the TOSDV has been restoring and will install in the Colonial this fall, which is sitting in our lobby and looking rather grand!
Lastly, I've added lots of information about this year's BlobFest to our website. There are still details to fill in, but the basics are there, and it's looking to be a great weekend.
Thanks for your support and we'll see you at the theatre!
May 2 - 8
Thursday, May 1st, 2008
In Bruges, starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes startstomorrow night. Holed up in Bruges, Belgium after a difficult job, two hit men begin todiffer on their views of life and death as they become used to local customs.
Also tomorrow night, it's the second installment of our newest film series, First Friday Fright Night. We're screening A Clockwork Orange at 9:45pm. For acomplete list of this year's First Friday films, click on the link at left.
Our kids' program at 2pm on Saturday is live and local. Magician Eric Paul, a regular here at the theatre, will delight kids and parents alike with his magic and comedy. Tickets are $5 for all.
This Sunday at 2pm we begin a month of classic Sherlock Holmes films with The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) starring Basil Rathbone. We'll show the 1959 version of thisfilm starring Peter Cushing on the last Sunday of the month. See them both and decidefor yourself who makes the better Holmes. This week's film will be shown on DVD.
This FREE lecture may be of interest to some of our patrons — Laura Roy-Carlson from theUniversity at Texas at San Antonio willpresent her research "Developing Metalinguistic and Metacognitive Strategiesthrough Think-alouds: Somali Bantu RefugeeStudents in a Predominantly Latino School and
Community."
- Where: Penn State Great Valley, Main 107
- When: Mon, May 5, 2008, 1:45 - 2:45pm
Thanks for your support and we'll see you at the theatre.
Apr 25 - May 1
Thursday, April 24th, 2008
We have a new feature starting tomorrow (Friday) — this year's Oscar winner for best documentary feature, Taxi to the Dark Side. The film provides an in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. More information is in the Features section of the website. Please note that there will be no Wednesday screenings of the film because of the Dickey Betts concert.
Our kids' film at 2pm on Saturday is Mary Poppins (1966) starring the perfectly tart Julie Andrews and the exuberant Dick Van Dyke. (The chimney sweeps' performance in "Step in Time" is just brilliant!)
Wrapping up our month of Terry Gilliam films, our classic on Sunday at 2pm is The Fisher King starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges. Next week, we get back to classics proper with a month of Sherlock Holmes films.If you really need a film fix this weekend, check out the West Chester Film Festival today through Sunday. This year, they're screening 68 short films in 9 blocks throughout the weekend. Each block has 7-8 films. The price per block is $7, but Colonial members will pay only $6 when they present their Colonial membership card at the box office.
Finally, we have two unique workshops for kids this summer. During the last week in June, Hua Hua Zhang who performed at the theatre this month, will lead younger students in a Chinese Dragon Workshop, and older students in a Shadow Mask Theatre Workshop. More information about both is on the Children's section of our website. You can also find out about our Summer Children's Series on our site.
Thanks for your support and we'll see you at the theatre!
Apr 18 - 24
Thursday, April 17th, 2008
We're holding onto Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day starring Frances McDormand and Amy Adams for one more week. However, please note that there will be no screenings on Friday night or Saturday night because of two great concerts –
— Gaelic Storm on Friday night and Brain Damage (a Pink Floyd tribute) on Saturday night. Gaelic Storm is sold out, but you are welcome to come line up for standing room only tickets (which are actual seats in our balcony) that will be made available after the concert starts and all of our ticket holders are seated. These tickets will be $18 and available on a first come, first served basis. Doors open at 7pm and the concert starts at 8pm. There will be Brain Damage tickets available at the door on Saturday night for $20. Doors open at 7pm and the concert starts at 8pm.
For the Children's Series this Saturday we've got one of our annual favorites, The Princess Bride, at 2pm. No matter how many times I see this film, it never loses it's charm. And it's equally loved by kids and adults, so bring your whole family. Our thanks to Phoenix Karate for sponsoring this film!
Our classic on Sunday at 2pm is The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, another wildly imaginative Terry Gilliam film that appeals to children (ages 10+) and adults.
Finally, on Sunday afternoon at 4:30pm we're screening Frida (2002), directed by Julie Taymor and starring Salma Hayek. For more information about this event click here.
Thanks for your support and we'll see you at the theatre!
Apr 11 - 17
Friday, April 11th, 2008
We're starting a new feature film on Friday — Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day starring Frances McDormand and Amy Adams. Click on the Features link at left for more information.
For the Children's Series this Saturday we're thrilled to welcome puppet artist and choreographer Hua Hua Zhang to perform East Meets West II: The Journey Continues. I'm sure all who came to see East Meets West last year can attest to how extraordinary, poignant, and funny her puppetry vignettes are — Hua Hua is truly a masterful artist.
Our classic on Sunday is Brazil at 2pm. Like all of Terry Gilliam's films, this one is a real visual feast!
Thanks to all who came out for our inaugural First Friday Fright Night on April 4. We screened Night of the Living Dead and had a great time doing so. Next up is A Clockwork Orange on May 2.
Thanks for your support and we'll see you at the theatre!
Apr 4 - 10
Thursday, April 3rd, 2008
We're holding on to The Band's Visit (Israel, 2007) for a second week.This film has garnered terrific reviews and won multiple international awards. More information is below.
We've got some pretty cool things happening this weekend. On Friday we're kicking off our First Friday Fright Night series with Night of the Living Dead (1968, George Romero). Screening time is 9:45pm and ticket prices are the same as always — $4 - $7. On Saturday night, we have a comedy show at 8pm, The Second City: One Nation Under Blog. Tickets are $17 - $25 and will be available at the door. Please note that the 4pm show was canceled, but those tickets will be honored at the 8pm show.
There will be no children's series program today, but next week we are thrilled to have puppet artist and choreographer Hua Hua Zhang back to perform East Meets West II: The Journey Continues. I'm sure all who came to see East Meets West last year can attest to how extraordinary, poignant, and funny her puppetry vignettes are — Hua Hua is truly a masterful artist. More information is below.
For the classics this month, we're showing our favorite Terry Gilliam films starting with Time Bandits on Apr 6 at 2pm. This is a great film to bring your kids or grandchildren to.
And now, a traffic report. We're all understandably frustrated by the increased congestion in town, and the seemingly diminishing parking spaces. But, the town is addressing it — a parking authority is in the works. So our patience will pay off! However, the Gay Street bridge (the high bridge, Rt. 113) is closing this week — it's getting demolished and rebuilt. This project is scheduled to take 2 years. So, things are going to be hairy for a while. Please, don't let this inconvenience keep you away from Phoenixville! The Colonial and the merchants will need your continued support more than ever.
Thanks for your support and we'll see you at the theatre!
Mar 28 - Apr 3
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
Our new feature for the week, starting tomorrow, is The Band's Visit (Israel, 2007).This film has garnered terrific reviews and won multiple international awards.
We still have tickets available for the Sousa Concert with The New Holland Band on Sunday, Mar 30 at 4pm. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for kids and members of the theatre. This is sure to be a unique and wonderful performance!
On Saturday at 2pm we have another of our favorite children's shows — The Segal Puppet Theatre & Co. will present Silly Sideshow Circus. Tickets for this show are $5 and will be available at the door. I've just added all the Children's Summer Series performances to the website — under the Children's section. You will also find information there on the two workshops we're offering for students during the last week in June, the Shadow Mask Workshop and the Chinese Dragon Workshop.
On Sunday at 12noon we're showing the last Bond film of the month, The Man with the Golden Gun (1974). (The earlier show time is to allow for the New Holland Band to come in and set-up for their concert that afternoon.) Next month, we're showing our favorite Terry Gilliam films starting with Time Bandits on Apr 6.
The 4pm show of The Second City: One Nation Under Blog on Saturday, Apr 5 has been canceled. If you've already purchased tickets for this show, you can either use them to come to the 8pm show, or return them for a refund. If you bought your tickets from ticketweb.com please call them at 866-468-7619 to refund them. If you bought your tickets here at the box office, you can come in to do the refund with us. Again, please note that tickets to the 4pm show will be accepted at the 8pm show. We're sorry for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding.
Mar 21 - 27
Friday, March 21st, 2008
Happy Spring! Please note that we will be closed on Sunday for Easter.
We have two concerts this weekend - Johnny Winter on Friday night and Enter the Haggis on Saturday night. The Winter concert is sold out, but we still have tickets available for Haggis. It's sure to be a rollicking show!
Our next film, or rather films, start on Monday night. We will show this year's Oscar-nominated Live Action Shorts (147 min) on Monday and Wednesday and the Animated Shorts (92 min) on Tuesday and Thursday.
On Saturday at 2pm we're showing our annual St. Patty's Day film, Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) starring Sean Connery. Next week, we have another of our favorite shows — The Segal Puppet Theatre & Co. will present Silly Circus Sideshow. Tickets for this show will be $5 and will be available at the door.
There will be no classic film this Sunday, as we will be closed for Easter. The last Bond film of the month will be The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) on Sunday, Mar 30 at 12pm. (The earlier show time is to allow for the New Holland Band to come in and set-up for their concert that afternoon.)
We've got two great Point Entertainment events coming up in the next few weeks and there are still some tickets available for all of them: Enter the Haggis on Mar 22, and The Second City (comedy) on Apr 5. Tickets available at our box office or online at www.ticketweb.com.
The Nutcracker with a few twists
Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007
We're thrilled to welcome ContempraDance Theatre to the Colonial to perform their original and hilarious dance spoof of the Nutcracker. It combines comedy, hip hop, jazz, modern and ballet and is filled with references to local Philadelphia places, personalities, foods and skylines. For more information about the show click on the Children's link at left and scroll down to December 8. Hope to see you there!
Three new concerts booked
Monday, August 6th, 2007
Al Stewart, Jorma Kaukonen and Livingston Taylor are coming back to the Colonial. Al will perform on Friday, Nov 9 at 8pm; Jorma will perform on Friday, Feb 1 at 8pm; and Livingston will be here on Saturday, Feb 2 at 8pm. Tickets for both shows go on sale at 12pm on Tuesday, Aug 7. Tickets can be purchased with cash or check at the Colonial box office or with a credit card by calling Charge-By-Phone at (866) 468-7619 or at www.ticketweb.com.
BlobFest videos
Thursday, July 26th, 2007
Click here to see the Slate.com video about BlobFest 8. It's a pretty accurate re-cap of the weekend. There are also plenty of videos of BlobFests past and present on You Tube — check them out for yourself.
BlobFest cartoon
Thursday, July 12th, 2007
Blobologist Shane Stone's discovery of BlobFest is chronicled in the Phables feature in the Philadelphia Daily News.
BlobFest makes it into the New York Times
Thursday, July 12th, 2007
IN PENNSYLVANIA HAMLET, MUCH ADO ABOUT GOO
NEW YORK TIMES
June 10, 2007
By Franz Lidz More »