Museum of Performance & Design
401 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 402
San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 255-4800
Special August Events
The MPD will present one-night-only screenings of two Coward films:
Boom! and
Bitter Sweet - rare footage of the original 1929 London production, plus live musical performance by Lamplighters Music Theatre.
Boom! · August 12 at 7:00 PM
Joseph Losey's rarely seen 1968 film Boom! (screenplay by Tennessee Williams) tells the story of heiress Sissy Goforth (Elizabeth Taylor) who is visited on her private island by a young artist (Richard Burton) who may or may not be The Angel of Death.
In one of his final film roles, Coward gives a classic performance as "The Witch of Capri" that combines the drawing room humor and camp sensibility that made him an international icon. Although critically dismissed at the time of its release,
Boom! has gained a devoted cult following. Among its fans are director John Waters, who cites the production design and over-the-top performances as a major influence on his taste.
Boom! is presented in conjunction with Star Quality: The World of Noel Coward. Included in the exhibition is the original Douglas Hayward tuxedo Coward wore in the film. This screening is free, but space is limited and reservations are required: call (415) 255-4800 or send email to Tony Bravo at
tonyb@mpdsf.org .
Bitter Sweet · August 19 at 7:00 PM
On Stage and On Screen
On Screen: Never-before-seen footage of more than 35 minutes of Coward's original 1929 London production of
Bitter Sweet. Only archivists have known about this footage since the film was shot 80
years ago. Pre-eminent Coward scholar,
Barry Day, graciously
provided this footage to the MPD.
On Stage: Bitter Sweet has been produced worldwide, and adapted into two films and Barry Day's concert version, which was performed on May 16th by the Lamplighters Music Theatre. Members of the Lamplighters cast will reprise selections from the score, which ranks with Coward's finest work as a songwriter, with such classic romantic ballads as "I'll See You Again" and "If Love Were All."
For the screening,
Brad
Rosenstein (MPD Curator of Exhibitions and Programs and co-curator of
Star Quality) took the raw film -- which had been left silent and unedited -- edited
it into its proper order, and added musical tracks.
Tickets are $10.00 for members of the Museum and $15.00 for the general public. For reservations please call (415) 255-4800 or purchase online at
www.mpdsf.org For more information on Lamplighters Music Theatre please visit
www.lamplighters.org .
______________________________________________________Star Quality Exhibition continuesWednesday - Saturdays / Noon to 5 PM
Through August 29 at the MPD.
For more information and further details on special events, click here:
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