STUART - The Lyric Theatre will again present free movies
in August, but the hottest month of the year begins by generating some in-house
heat with an appearance by Australia's Thunder from Down Under. The male revue
will put on two shows Aug. 1, at 6 and 8:30 p.m.
The popular group is a fixture at the Las Vegas Excalibur
Hotel and Casino and been featured on "The View." The men dress, and
that term is used loosely, as fantasy characters including Jack Sparrow from
"Pirates of the Caribbean," a desperado from the Wild West and a
fireman with his own heat.
There's music from a variety of decades, and it should
come as no surprise that the show includes adult material.
The rest of the month is a little tamer, but the summer
movie series includes classics from several eras.
On Aug. 3, at 3 p.m. and Aug. 4 at 5 p.m., the cult
favorite, "Harold and Maude" will be screened. Starring Ruth Gordon
as an elderly woman who loves life and Bud Cort as a young man with a death
wish, the black comedy was ranked by Entertainment Weekly as 4th on its list of
Top 50 Cult Films.
The mood changes Aug. 3 at 6 p.m. and Aug. 4 at 2 p.m.
with the Frank Capra classic, "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." The
movie starts Jimmy Stewart as an idealistic senator, Claude Rains as a corrupt senator
and Jean Arthur as the secretary who's seen it all but joins with Stewart as he
fights corruption. The 1939 Congress denounced the film as "a
caricature."
Aug. 10 at 2 p.m. and Aug. 11 at 5 p.m. brings the epic
"Ben Hur," winner of
11 Oscars. The
film stars Charlton Heston as the rebellious Jew who takes on the Roman Empire,
and features one of the greatest action scenes in the movies, the famed chariot
races.
The Mel Brooks classic "The Producers," will be
shown Aug. 10 at 6 p.m. and Aug. 11 at 2 p.m. It stars Zero Mostel and Gene
Wilder, in his film debut.
The film was also Brooks' Oscar-winning directorial
debut.
"Anatomy of a Murder," on Aug. 17 at 3 p.m. and
Aug. 18 at 5 p.m., stars James Stewart as a lawyer who defends Ben Gazzara, an
admitted murderer. He faces prosecutor George C. Scott and the film has a jazz
score by Duke Ellington.
"Manhattan," is Woody Allen's sort-of love song
to New York City. Shown on Aug. 17 at 6
p.m. and Aug. 18 at 2 pm., the film has Diane Keaton, who starred in Allen's
"Annie Hall." Allen plays a neurotic television writer, which was, no
doubt, a stretch for him, and Meryl Streep plays his ex-wife.
The season ends with a blockbuster. On Aug. 25 at 2 p.m.
and Aug. 31 at 3 p.m., the Lyric presents the epic "Gone with the
Wind." What can you say about Scarlett and Rhett that hasn't been said
before? The movie stars Vivien Leigh as Scarlett and Clark Gable as Rhett;
author Margaret Mitchell was said to have had the actor in mind when she wrote
the role. Is that story true? Frankly, my dear, I don't .well, you know the
rest. He was perfect in the role,
whether it was written for him or not.
The Lyric
Theatre, 59 S.W. Flagler Ave., Stuart, presents Australia's Thunder from Down
Under on Aug. 1 at 6 and 8:30 p.m.
Tickets are $37. Visit the website, www.lyrictheatre.com.
Tickets for the
summer films are free. They are available only at the Lyric box office and
there is a limit of four tickets. Tickets are subject to availability.
For more
information, call the box office at (772) 286-7827.S
