NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM: SILENT MOVIES WITH RICHARD HUGHES Comes to Webster

On Friday, November 4, Main Street in Webster circa 1916 will come alive at Samuel Slater Experience with Night at the Museum: Silent Movies with Richard Hughes. Pianist and historian Hughes will share the adventure, drama, romance, and comedy that characterized the silent movies of the early 1900s films in the Liberty Theater, along the recreation of Main Street that is one of the most popular exhibits at the museum.

It's a trip back in time with the screening of two classic silent comedies both accompanied by Hughes. Charlie Chaplin's The Immigrant is regarded by critics and enthusiasts as among his best work. Sherlock, Jr. starring Buster Keaton, has been named one of the American Film Institute's 100 funniest movies of all time.

Richard Hughes takes his audience on a trip into a colorful past when Nickelodeon theaters showed black & white flickers to the accompaniment of live piano. Along the way, he'll demonstrate such early 20th century instruments of the entertainment business as the cylinder phonograph and animation devices that led to the development of the motion picture camera.

Popcorn and a cash bar set up in the lobby of the adjacent Hotel Mannexit will help make the evening complete.

Described as "Disney-like," the Samuel Slater Experience, which opened in March, employs state-of-the-art 4-D digital technology to tell the story of Samuel Slater, the beginnings of the American Industrial Revolution, and the founding of Webster, Massachusetts, in the early 19th century.

The Samuel Slater Experience is supported by the Janet Malser Humanities Trust, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and individual donations.