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Cinema Chat: 'Priscilla' and 'The Persian Version' open downtown, plus more live events at the Michigan Theater!

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Michigan Theater Popcorn

LIVE EVENTS COMING TO THE MICHIGAN THEATER

"Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood Live: King for a Day" — SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11 AT 2 PM AT THE MICHIGAN

The grr-ific musical for little tigers and grown-ups alike is back! The hugely popular "Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood LIVE!," based on the #1 PBS KIDS TV and Emmy Award-winning series that has delighted live audiences on stages across the country is back. Daniel Tiger and all of his friends are hopping back on board Trolley and coming to your town with DANIEL TIGER’S NEIGHBORHOOD LIVE: KING FOR A DAY! Join Daniel, O the Owl, Miss Elaina, Katerina Kittycat, Prince Wednesday, and more familiar friends for a brand-new adventure in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe where Daniel learns just what it takes to be King. The beloved characters come alive on stage to captivate you with new songs to sing along to, magical moments, and SURPRISE guests along the way! It’s an event filled with tigertastic fun, teaching the valuable lessons of kindness, helping others, and being a friend. Don’t miss Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood LIVE: King for a Day... a royally great time!

VIP EXPERIENCE

Upgrade your show experience by choosing VIP seats and secure your family’s spot in the exclusive post-show photo-op with Daniel and his friend. Don’t miss this opportunity to capture the moment and take home a photo from the Land of Make Believe.

Kelli O’Hara — SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12 AT 7 PM AT THE MICHIGAN

Kelli O'Hara, star of stage and screen, has established herself as one of Broadway's greatest leading ladies. The Tony Award winner, Emmy and Grammy-nominated actress has appeared in eleven Broadway shows for which she has garnered seven Tony Award Nominations.

She won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical, along with Grammy, Drama League and Outer Critics, nominations for her portrayal of Anna Leonowens in “The King and I”. She then reprised the role while making her West End debut garnering a prestigious Olivier Nomination for her performance and then performed a limited engagement at Tokyo's Orb Theatre.

O’Hara received an Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of Katie Bonner in Topic's hit web series, “The Accidental Wolf”, and can currently be seen as Aurora Fane on HBO’s critically acclaimed series, “The Gilded Age”.

She has had several recurring television roles such as Showtime's “Master of Sex”, “13 Reasons Why”, “Blue Bloods’, and “All My Children”. Additional Film and Television credits include “All the Bright Places”, “Peter Pan Live!”, “Sex & The City 2”, Martin Scorsese's “The Key to Reserva”, “The Good Fight”, “N3mbers”, and the animated series “Car Talk”.

O’Hara recently starred in the critically acclaimed new musical, “Days Of Wine And Roses” Off-Broadway at The Atlantic Theatre Company, a musical she asked Guettel to create for her 21 years ago.

OPENING THIS WEEK

"Priscilla" — OPENS TODAY AT THE STATE

A 2023 American biographical drama film written, directed, and produced by Sofia Coppola, based on the 1985 memoir "Elvis and Me" by Priscilla Presley (who serves as an executive producer) and Sandra Harmon. It follows the life of Presley (played by Cailee Spaeny) and her relationship with Elvis Presley (Jacob Elordi). Priscilla premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival.

In this ravishingly detailed portrait of love, fantasy, and fame, writer/director Sofia Coppola tells the unseen side of a great American myth in Priscilla Beaulieu and Elvis Presley's long courtship. When teenage Priscilla Beaulieu meets Elvis Presley at a party, the man who is already a meteoric rock-and-roll superstar becomes someone entirely unexpected in private moments: a thrilling crush, an ally in loneliness, a gentle best friend. Through Priscilla’s eyes, writer/director Sofia Coppola tells the unseen side of a great American myth in Elvis and Priscilla's long courtship and turbulent marriage, from a German army base to his dream-world estate at Graceland, in this deeply felt and ravishingly detailed portrait of love, fantasy, and fame.

"The Persian Version" — OPENS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3 AT THE STATE

A 2023 American comedy-drama film directed and written by Maryam Keshavarz. The film stars Layla Mohammadi, Niousha Noor, Bijan Daneshmand, Bella Warda, and Tom Byrne. It follows the struggles of a young Iranian American woman who is often at odds with her family, particularly with her mother. The film had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023, where it won two awards, including the Audience Award for the U.S. Dramatic Competition.

Leila is an Iranian American woman who strives to find balance and embrace her opposing cultures. When her large family reunites in New York City for her father's heart transplant, she keeps everyone at arm's length -- until a secret is revealed.

SPECIAL SCREENINGS DOWNTOWN

"The Silence of the Lambs" — PLAYS FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3 AT 9:30 PM AND THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9 AT 7:30 PM AT THE STATE

Part of the Late Nights at the State series

Jodie Foster stars as Clarice Starling, a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford (Scott Glenn) wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out. From director Jonathan Demme ('Stop Making Sense')

"In the Court of the Crimson King: King Crimson at 50" — PLAYS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8 AT 7:30 PM AT THE MICHIGAN

King Crimson is a band that people literally are dying to be in. This is a dark, comic film for anyone who wonders whether it is worth sacrificing everything for just a single moment of transcendence. For over 50 years, Robert Fripp, also famous for his work with David Bowie and Brian Eno, has overseen a unique creative environment in which freedom and responsibility conspire to place extraordinary demands on the band's members -- only alleviated by the applause of an audience whose adoration threatens to make their lives even harder. It's a rewarding and perilous space in which the extraordinary is possible, nothing is certain, and not everyone survives intact. From director Toby Amies.

CONTINUING DOWNTOWN

"Anatomy of a Fall" 

A 2023 French courtroom drama thriller directed by Justine Triet from a screenplay co-written by Triet and Arthur Harari. It stars Sandra Hüller as a writer trying to prove her innocence in her husband's death.

It had its world premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on 21 May 2023, where it won the Palme d'Or. The film received generally positive reviews from critics, with Triet's direction and Hüller's performance garnering universal critical acclaim. It has sold over 1 million admissions in France.

Sandra, a German writer, is arrested for murder in France following her husband's death in the snow under mysterious circumstances. Having the couple's 11-year-old, blind son as the only witness of her husband's death, Sandra tries to prove her innocence during the trial.

"Dicks: The Musical" 

Two self-obsessed businessmen discover they’re long-lost identical twins and come together to plot the reunion of their eccentric divorced parents. From director Larry Charles ("Borat", "Seinfeld") and starring Aaron Jackson, Josh Sharp, Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally, Megan Thee Stallion and Bowen Yang. Presenting the Sing-Along version with on-screen lyrics.

"Killers of the Flower Moon"

A 2023 American epic crime drama film directed and produced by Martin Scorsese, who co-wrote the screenplay with Eric Roth, based on the 2017 book of the same name by David Grann. Its plot centers on a series of Oklahoma murders in the Osage Nation during the 1920s, committed after oil was discovered on tribal land. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone, with Jesse Plemons, Tantoo Cardinal, John Lithgow, and Brendan Fraser in supporting roles. It marks the sixth feature film collaboration between Scorsese and DiCaprio and the tenth between Scorsese and De Niro.

Development on the film began in March 2016 when Imperative Entertainment won the film adaptation rights to the book. Scorsese and DiCaprio were attached to the film in 2017, with production initially expected to begin in early 2018. Following several pushbacks and delays in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, production was scheduled to commence in February 2021. Principal photography ultimately took place in Osage County and Washington County between the spring and fall of 2021. The film had a $200 million budget reportedly the largest amount ever spent on a film shot in Oklahoma.

The film premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2023 to widespread critical acclaim for its screenplay, score, cinematography, production design, and performances of DiCaprio, De Niro, and Gladstone.

"Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour"

The cultural phenomenon continues on the big screen! Immerse yourself in this once-in-a-lifetime concert film experience with a breathtaking, cinematic view of the history-making tour. Taylor Swift Eras attire and friendship bracelets are strongly encouraged! From director Sam Wrench.

The film is three hours, with a set list of 44 songs divided into 10 distinct acts that conceptually portray Swift's ten studio albums. The tour was a commercial success and received critical acclaim. It became a cultural and economic phenomenon, bolstered by a globally unprecedented ticket demand and fan frenzy.

Swift commissioned a recording of the Eras Tour to be theatrically released as a feature film. Sam Wrench, who previously helmed Billie Eilish's "Billie Eilish: Live at the O2" (2023) and Lizzo's "Lizzo: Live in Concert" (2022), was hired as director, and the film was recorded at the first three of six Los Angeles shows of the tour from August 3 to 5, 2023, at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.

"Stop Making Sense"

A 1984 American concert film featuring a live performance by the American rock band Talking Heads. Directed by Jonathan Demme, it was shot over three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December 1983, when the group was touring to promote their new album Speaking in Tongues. The concert serves as a band retrospective, featuring many of their popular songs from their first single "Psycho Killer" (1977) through to their most recent hit "Burning Down the House" (1983). The group also performs songs from frontman David Byrne's solo career, and from Tom Tom Club, the side project of two other band members.

The band raised the budget of $1.2 million themselves. The four core members of Talking Heads—lead singer and guitarist David Byrne, drummer Chris Frantz, guitarist and keyboardist Jerry Harrison, and bassist Tina Weymouth—are joined on stage by an extensive supporting band, including backing singers Lynn Mabry and Ednah Holt, guitarist Alex Weir, keyboardist Bernie Worrell, and percussionist Steve Scales.

This film is considered by many critics to be one of the greatest concert films of all time, and a cult classic. The film is a pioneering example of the use of early digital audio techniques. In 2021, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

COMING SOON

"The Holdovers" — OPENS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9 AT THE MICHIGAN

From acclaimed director Alexander Payne, this film follows a curmudgeonly instructor (Paul Giamatti) at a New England prep school who is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker (newcomer Dominic Sessa) — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam (Da’Vine Joy Randolph).

"The Marvels" — OPENS THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9 AT THE STATE AND THE MULTIPLEX

Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) has reclaimed her identity from the tyrannical Kree and taken revenge on the Supreme Intelligence. But unintended consequences see Carol shouldering the burden of a destabilized universe. When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, her powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan, Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani), and Carol's estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris). Together, this unlikely trio must team-up and learn to work in concert to save the universe as "The Marvels." From director Nia DaCosta and also starring Samuel L. Jackson.

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Contact David: dfair@emich.edu
Russ Collins is the executive director of Marquee Arts, the nonprofit that oversees the Michigan Theater and State Theatre in Ann Arbor.
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