Thursday, December 31, 2009

Broadway Revival of Finian's Rainbow (Which Includes A Reference To Scranton) To Close January 17th

According to Theatermania.com, the Broadway revival of Finian's Rainbow will close on Sunday, January 17th after a run of 22 previews and 97 performances.

The lyrics of The Begat, one of the show's most popular songs, contains the following:

"The Lats and Lithuanians, begat.
Scranton Pennsylvanians
, begat.
Strictly vegetarians, begat.
And honorary Aryans, begat."

To get tickets for Finian's Rainbow, click here.

For a previous blog entry on Finian's Rainbow, click here.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Extraordinary Measures (2010)

Today's Time-Tribune includes an article on the new Harrison Ford-Brendan Fraser film Extraordinary Measures, which details the true story of Scranton native Marty Holleran and the mysterious and rare disease that afflicted his grandchildren.

The film is based on the book The Cure: How a Father Raised $100 Million - And Bucked the Medical Establishment - in a Quest to Save His Children by Greeta Anand.

Extraordinary Measures opens nationwide January 22, 2010.

Click here to read the full article.

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Remember The Night (1940) Now Available on DVD; Will Air on TCM 12/24 at 8 PM; Includes Brief Reference to Scranton

Turner Classic Movies will be broadcasting the 1940 Barbara Stanwyck/Fred MacMurray holiday film Remember the Night on Thursday, December 24th at 8 PM.

In addition, after only being available on VHS for a brief time in the 1980s, Remember the Night has FINALLY been released on DVD, which you can order directly from TCM by clicking here.

Remember the Night tells the story of a repeat shoplifter (Stanwyck) who goes to Indiana for the holidays with the lawyer who is also prosecuting her. The film also features a brief passing reference to Scranton.

Click here to read an awesome article detailing the long-awaited release of Remember the Night on DVD.

UPDATE 4/8/10 Albright Memorial Library now has the DVD of Remember the Night in its collection. To place a hold, click here.

Thursday, December 03, 2009

"The Last Station" Based On Novel By Pittston/Scranton Native Jay Parini, In Limited Release December 23rd; Expands Nationally January 15th, 2010

The film version of Pittston/Scranton native Jay Parini's novel The Last Station, will be opening in limited release Wednesday, December 23rd and will expand to theaters nationwide on January 15th, 2010.

Based on Parini's acclaimed 1990 novel of the same name, The Last Station details the final year in the life of reknowned author Leo Tolstoy. The impressive cast includes Oscar winner Helen Mirren, Christopher Plummer, Paul Giamatti, and James McAvoy.

For our previous blog entry on The Last Station, click here.

To place a hold on the library's copy of Jay Parini's 1990 novel The Last Station, click here.