Saturday, October 11 at 3:00 pm & 7:00 pm
The Last Class (2025)
Starring: Robert Reich
Director: Elliott Kirschner
The Last Class is a nuanced and deeply personal portrait of master educator Robert Reich teaching his final course and reflecting on a period of immense transformation, personally and globally. It is a love letter to education. The former Secretary of Labor might be famous for his public service, best-selling books, and viral social media posts, but he always considered teaching his true calling. Now, after over 40 years and an extraordinary 40,000 students, Reich is preparing for his last class.
Over the course of the film, Reich confronts the impending finality, and his own aging, with increasing candor, introspection, and, ultimately, emotion. He displays a rawness of feeling he has never shared publicly before. Drawing on his lifetime in politics, he uses his class, “Wealth and Poverty,” to offer us all a deeper look at why inequalities of income and wealth have widened significantly since the late 1970s, and why this poses dangerous risks to our society.
One thousand students fill the biggest lecture hall on the UC Berkeley campus, the last class to receive Reich’s wisdom and exhortations not to accept that the world has to stay the way it is. His belief in the next generation’s ability to take on the fight is inspiring.
Post-Film Discussions
A post-film discussion will follow for those who wish to stay, led by the following guest experts in policy and politics:
Ashwani Jain (3 pm screening) – On-air Democratic strategist, author of Project 2027, and more: AshwaniJain.com
Dr. Raymond Smock (7 pm screening) – American historian, director emeritus of Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education at Shepherd University, and formerly the Historian of the United States House of Representatives
Runtime: 71 minutes + post-film discussion
Our presentation of The Last Class is sponsored by four generous community members: Pam Parziale, Rebecca Phipps, Renny Smith, Elizabeth Wheeler. (What does this mean? These sponsors paid for our license to screen this film, which means that ticket sales and concession sales can go toward operating and maintaining the historic Shepherdstown Opera House.) Interested in proposing and sponsoring a film? Email Contact@OperaHouseLive.com.
Not Rated (all ages)
General admission (unreserved seating).
The historic Shepherdstown Opera House is cozy vaudeville era theater that seats 100 — we encourage patrons to purchase tickets in advance. Doors open 30 minutes before showtime and our shows start promptly. Popcorn, candy, soft drinks, beer & wine available for purchase (no outside food or drinks please). Lobby, theater & restroom are wheelchair accessible.