The Park Theatre Streams Classic Film THE FRESHMAN with Live Accompaniment

The classic silent comedy film, The Freshman, will be live-streamed with an acclaimed accompanist on Saturday, May 1 at 7pm EDT. The event is being produced as part of the Virtual Park Theatre online events for the spring.

The Freshman was released in 1925 to critical raves. Over the years, it has obtained a cult status for feature-length silent comedy films, especially those produced just before talkies began. The film stars one of the great comedians of the silent film era, Harold Lloyd. The film is the story about Harold Lamb, who can't fit in at college. He keeps his spirits up and even though he is the water-boy for the football team, he is led to believe he is on the squad. Love, comedy high jinks, and lots of heart are the themes of this movie.

The film will be accompanied live by Andrew E. Simpson from Washington, DC. Andrew is an acclaimed composer of opera, silent film, orchestral, chamber, choral, dance, and vocal music. His musical works make multi-faceted, intimate connections with literature, visual art, and film, reflecting his interest in linking music with the wider world, an approach which he calls "humanistic music."

One of America's foremost silent film musicians, Andrew has performed across the United States, Europe, and South America. He is Resident Film Accompanist at the National Gallery of Art and a regularly featured accompanist at the Library of Congress' Mt. Pony Theater in Culpeper, VA, as well as Keyboard Artist for the Cantate Chamber Singers. He has performed silent film scores at the Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone, Italy, Lincoln Center in New York City, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, the Sala Cecelia Meireles in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Harvard Film Archive, UCLA Film and Television Archive, and festivals such as Cinefest, Slapsticon, Orphans, and the Library of Congress' Mostly Lost workshops. Simpson also conceived and co-founded Atlas Performing Arts Center's Silent Film Series, entering its fifth season in 2020-21, for which he is curator and resident musician.

Individual tickets for the live-streamed event on May 1 at 7pm EDT are $10, and group tickets are $15. They can be purchased by going to theparktheatre.org, calling (603) 532-8888, or visiting the theatre box office at 19 Main Street, Jaffrey, NH. The live event will be taped and available on-demand online two days after the original telecast.

The event can be watched on a smartphone, tablet, or cast to your large screen TV via Apple Airplay or Chromecast.