Town Hall Theater To Present The HOLLYWOOD MUSICAL: PART 2

Town Hall Theater will present The Hollywood Musical: Part 2, a four-part educational and film experience led by Director in Residence Doug Anderson, on Wednesday evenings from February 11 through March 4.

All sessions will begin at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall Theater, located at 72–76 Merchants Row in Middlebury. Pricing ranges from $30 to $150, with live and streaming options available. Registration and tickets are available at townhalltheater.org, at the Town Hall Theater box office Monday through Friday from 12:00 to 5:00 p.m., or by phone at 802-382-9222.

Combining film history, cultural context, and full-length screenings, The Hollywood Musical is designed as both a class and a curated movie series. Each session begins with a lecture from Anderson examining the studios, directors, performers, and industry shifts that shaped each era of the Hollywood musical, followed by a screening of a key film from that period.

Part 2 continues the exploration begun in the first installment of the course, which focused on films from 1930 through 1950 and examined the technological and stylistic developments that defined the Golden Age of movie musicals. For participants who did not attend Part 1, Anderson will begin the new series with a recap of major early films and foundational ideas.

This installment picks up in the 1950s as the traditional studio system began to decline and the movie musical entered a period of transformation. As the country moved into the social and cultural shifts of the 1960s and beyond, the genre searched for new forms, audiences, and relevance. Each class places the featured film within its broader historical and artistic context before screening it on the big screen.

The four sessions include a screening of A Star Is Born (1954), starring Judy Garland and James Mason, on February 11 in the Rothrock Mainstage; Funny Girl (1968), starring Barbra Streisand, on February 18 in the Anderson Studio; Cabaret (1972), starring Liza Minnelli and Joel Grey, on February 25 in the Rothrock Mainstage; and a final session on March 4 featuring highlights from the 1970s to today in the Anderson Studio.