OCT 6 – Frankenstein

Shepherdstown Opera House on September 1, 2024

Sunday, October 6, 2024 at 3:00 pm

National Theatre Live – On Screen

Shepherdstown Opera House and the Contemporary American Theater Festival join forces to present the next best thing to live theater in Shepherdstown. From the UK’s National Theatre, filmed live in London’s West End, see the best of British theater right here in Shepherdstown!

Frankenstein

By Nick Dear, based on the novel by Mary Shelley

A sublime start to the spooky season.

Directed by Academy Award®-winner Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, Slumdog Millionaire), Frankenstein features Benedict Cumberbatch (Hamlet, BBC’s Sherlock) and Jonny Lee Miller (Elementary, Trainspotting) alternating between the roles of Victor Frankenstein and his creation.

Childlike in his innocence but grotesque in form, Frankenstein’ s bewildered creature is cast out into a hostile universe by his horror-struck maker. Meeting with cruelty wherever he goes, the increasingly desperate and vengeful Creature determines to track down his creator and strike a terrifying deal. Scientific responsibility, parental neglect, cognitive development and the nature of good and evil, are embedded within this thrilling and deeply disturbing classic tale.

Captured live on stage in 2011, this thrilling, sold-out production became an international sensation, experienced by almost half a million people in cinemas around the world.

Run time: 135 minutes including intermission

Recommended for adult audiences – Rated equivalent to R

Tickets: $18 standard, $15 senior/student (general admission, seated). Doors open 30 minutes before showtime. Seating in the historic Shepherdstown Opera House is limited, advance purchase encouraged. Beer, wine, soft drinks and snacks for sale during the performance (ID required for beer & wine purchase). Lobby, theater & restroom are wheelchair accessible.

TICKETS

OCT 4 – Citizen Kane

Shepherdstown Opera House on September 1, 2024

Friday, October 4, 2024 at 7:00 pm

A Shepherdstown Film Society presentation

Orson Welles’ classic masterpiece.

Alone at his fantastic estate known as Xanadu, 70-year-old Charles Foster Kane dies, uttering only the single word Rosebud. So ends the odyssey of a life…and begins a fabulous tale of the rise to wealth and power, and ultimate fall, of a complex man: A boy abandoned by his parents inherits a fortune, builds a global newspaper empire and aspires to become President of the United States, but he loses everything over an affair with an untalented nightclub singer. This fascinating story unfolds through the eyes of the people important to the tycoon–each showing a different aspect of Citizen Kane.

Frequently regarded as the best American film ever made; winner of an Academy Award for Best Writing, Original Screenplay; and nominated for an additional eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. The story is generally considered to be based on the life of William Randolph Hearst, who fought to prevent the release of the film by RKO, as told in the Golden Globe Award-winning made-for-cable film RKO 281.

Year Released: 1941

Rating: TV-PG

Director: Orson Welles

Cast: Orson Welles, Dorothy Comingore, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane, George Coulouris

Runtime: 119 minutes

General admission (“pay what you will”). Reservations encouraged to ensure seating in our 100-seat theater. Doors open 30 minutes before showtime. Online reservations end 2 hours before showtime. Popcorn, candy, soft drinks, beer & wine available for purchase (no outside food or drinks please). Lobby, theater & restroom are wheelchair accessible.

RESERVATIONS

FILM SOCIETY SPONSORS

A BIG THANKS to the sponsors whose generosity helps the Opera House bring this Shepherdstown Film Society selection to the community:

Executive Producers: The Press Room Restaurant & German Street Marketplace Coffee and Candlery

Producers: Sheila and Al Vertino

Producer:  Shepherd University Lifelong Learning

SEP 10 – Presidential Debate

Shepherdstown Opera House on September 1, 2024

Tuesday, September 10, 2024 at 9:00 pm

Watch the first Harris-Trump presidential debate with your neighbors and friends at the Shepherdstown Opera House. Co-sponsored by the Stubblefield Institute for Civil Political Communications at Shepherd University.

Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Debate starts: 9:00 pm

Doors open: 8:30 pm

Admission is FREE

Civility and good manners expected of everyone. Thank you.

Space Limited – Advance reservations encouraged.

Beer/wine/soft drinks, popcorn and snacks for sale (bring ID for wine/beer).

Reservations encouraged to ensure seating in our 100-seat theater. Doors open 30 minutes before showtime. Online reservations end 2 hours before showtime. Popcorn, candy, soft drinks, beer & wine available for purchase (no outside food or drinks please). Lobby, theater & restroom are wheelchair accessible.

RESERVATIONS

SEP 6 – The Big Lebowski

Shepherdstown Opera House on September 1, 2024

Friday, September 6, 2024 at 7:00 pm

A Shepherdstown Film Society presentation

One of the funniest comedies ever made!

A slacker known to his friends as “The Dude” gets mixed up in a convoluted kidnapping plot with an eccentric millionaire whose name he shares.

The Big Lebowski received mixed reviews at the time of its release, but reviews have since become largely positive and the film has become a cult favorite, noted for its eccentric characters, comedic dream sequences, idiosyncratic dialogue and eclectic soundtrack. In 2014, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.” (Credit: Wikipedia)

We’ll celebrate the start of the Film Society’s 2024-25 season with a complimentary pre-film party at 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm. Big Lebowski costumes encouraged!

Year Released: 1998

Rating: R

Director: Joel Coen

Cast: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare

Runtime: 117 minutes

General admission (“pay what you will”). Reservations encouraged to ensure seating in our 100-seat theater. Doors open 30 minutes before showtime. Online reservations end 2 hours before showtime. Popcorn, candy, soft drinks, beer & wine available for purchase (no outside food or drinks please). Lobby, theater & restroom are wheelchair accessible.

RESERVATIONS

FILM SOCIETY SPONSORS

A BIG THANKS to the sponsors whose generosity helps the Opera House bring this Shepherdstown Film Society selection to the community:

Executive Producers: The Press Room Restaurant & German Street Marketplace Coffee and Candlery

Producer: Shepherd University Lifelong Learning 

Big Lebowski Pre-Film Reception

Producers: Frank “Doc” McCluskey & Melanie Winter & Shepherdstown Opera House

Get Ready for the 2023 American Conservation Film Festival

Shepherdstown Opera House on February 1, 2023

The 2023 American Conservation Film Festival (ACFF) will light up the screen at the intimate and historic Shepherdstown Opera House for three days, (March 10, 11 & 12 — Fri, Sat & Sun) and will spotlight short films that are 40 minutes or less. From among the 300 films submitted from 44 countries, the ACFF selection committee has chosen 12 — including animation, narrative, and documentary films…