State Theatre Announces 85th Anniversary Celebration

Tuesday, December 26, at 2pm, the historic State Theatre celebrates its 85th Anniversary with a reenactment of the December 26, 1921 opening day matinee performance that started it all. In the spirit of the 20s, the 85th Anniversary celebration will feature a screening of the original matinee feature 1921 silent film White Oak, starring William S. Hart.

As in the original screening, there will be organ accompaniment, provided by world famous film historian and theater organist of today, Dennis James. As at the original matinee, there will be a variety of vaudeville performers including: visual comedian Peter Geist, Project Dynamite jugglers; rope tricks by Chris McDaniel, and song and dance man and MC for the day, Richard Stillman.

Seating for this special event is first-come, first-served. Doors open at 1pm. Rather than charging admission, the theater is sponsoring a food drive to benefit the Middlesex County's Emergency Food Distribution Network (MCFOODS), serving over 60 local food pantries and soup kitchens. Each patron is asked to bring at least one non-perishable food item to gain admission.

According to State Theatre President and CEO Wesley O. Brustad, the matinee celebration is intended as a community event. "This matinee is our birthday gift to all our friends, neighbors, and patrons who have brought the theater so far," he declared. "It's going to be a great party."

About White Oak (1921): White Oak, tells the story of gambler Oak Miller, played by the Western matinee idol of the silent screen, William S. Hart. Miller seeks revenge on the man who misused his sister Rose, who is ill and under the care of the woman Miller loves. Throughout the movie, Miller seeks revenge on the villain (Alexander Gaden) who ravished Miller's sister (Helen Holly). The brute also attempts to, as an inter title puts it, "possess" the gambler's sweetheart (Vola Vale) and, still not satisfied, lecherously pursues the daughter of his partner-in-crime, an Indian chief (Standing Bear).

Hart, known as the first screen cowboy, became famous with movies such as the 1917 film The Narrow Trail and the 1925 film Tumbleweeds.. White Oak, which was written by Hart, was directed by the great Lambert Hillyer, who directed over 150 movies in his lifetime.

Theater Organist and Film Historian Dennis James: Performing for films with orchestras since 1971 throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe, Dennis James is renowned for providing the most comprehensive selection of authentic silent films with live music presentations available today.

85 Years Ago: According to SAME STAGE - NEW AGE, a history of the theater written by Ruth Marcus Pat, New Brunswick in 1921 was a bustling city of about 40,000 with more than 60 industrial firms and dozens of churches and synagogues. Rutgers College was not yet large enough to be called a university and the New Jersey College for Women had just opened its doors three years earlier. Roads were inadequate and most families did not own cars. Radios were the principal source of entertainment in the home.

Announcing the opening of the Walter Reade's State Theatre back in 1921, theater magnate Reade boasted, "We have expended large sums of money, and we believe we have eliminated every possible detail fault which may be found in any other auditorium in the entire United States of America."

This event is a celebration of one of New Jersey's cultural gems, Brustad explained. "Thanks to the commitment and support of many individuals and organizations, including the City of New Brunswick, New Brunswick Development Corporation (DEVCO), and Middlesex County, the State Theatre has assumed an integral role in the remarkable revitalization of New Brunswick. This is an affirmation of our history and of an exciting future."

By www.statetheatrenj.org