TSO and the Fox Tucson Theatre are partnering for a one-night only showing of Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights on Saturday, April 20. “Between us, the Fox and TSO have nearly two centuries of artistic excellence under our belts right here in Tucson. On screen, Chaplin’s works are so rarely available in their full glory. To experience his iconic Tramp character on the really big screen right here in a movie-house of the same era as the film with the power and physical motion of our own hometown orchestra to buoy the action – well, it’s just not to be missed,” said Bonnie Schock executive director of the Fox Tucson Theatre.
One of the earliest rom-coms Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights is considered by many to be Chaplin’s masterpiece. The silent film was an instant success when it premiered in 1931 and to this day many film credits consider the film not only one of Chaplin’s best but one of the greatest films of all time. In 1949, the critic James Agee called the film’s final scene “the greatest single piece of acting ever committed to celluloid.” High praise for Chaplin, who is credited with writing, producing, directing, starring in, and even composing the film’s score. The story follows the misadventures of a lovable vagrant falling for a young blind woman who sells flowers on the street and mistakes him for a millionaire.
The film will be projected while Maestro Gomez leads the TSO to perform the score live. While the TSO regularly performs cinema concerts in this style, this will be the first time that Gomez has conducted.
Paul Meecham, TSO President and CEO adds, “Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights brings together two pillars of the Tucson cultural community, the TSO and the Fox Theatre, and we are thrilled at the prospect of this unique downtown collaboration. The historic Fox, which opened in 1930, just a year before the release of City Lights, is the perfect venue to see and hear this classic of the silent movie era.”
Tickets for City Lights range from $20 – $62.50 and can be purchased at foxtucson.com.
