Release date: March 15, 2004
Contact: Sally Corbett, Director of Public Relations, Arts,
at 404-727-6678 or sacorbe@emory.edu

Great Nickelodeon Show Entertains For One Night at Emory

"The Great Nickelodeon Show" at Emory University will hearken back to an entertainment sensation of the early 1900s, a genre that launched the careers of such film greats as Mary Pickford and the beloved Charlie Chaplin. Theater Emory, as part of the new Emory Coca-Cola Artists-in-Residence Series, presents the touring production of "The Great Nickelodeon Show" at 8 p.m. Wednesday, March 24 in the Performing Arts Studio, 1804 N. Decatur Road, Emory University. Tickets ($5 general public; free, Emory staff and students) can be purchased by calling 404-727-5050 or going to www.emory.edu/ARTS.

Beginning in 1904, American audiences attended nickelodeon theaters for a range of multifaceted, colorful and often unusual entertainment experiences. For little more than a nickel, audiences marveled at programs that usually incorporated short films, vaudeville performers, illustrated songs, improvised piano, hand-colored slides, cartoons and comic and dramatic sketches. Adding to the amusement, theatergoers were usually invited to sing along. Nickelodeons helped launch careers of film stars and the most popular radio performers of the day.

"The Great Nickelodeon Show's" director and producer, Russell Merritt, teaches in the film studies program at University of California at Berkeley. The nine-member touring company draws on talent from throughout the United States to create its namesake production. The company's music director and pianist for the production is Richard "Scrumbly" Koldewyn, who is known for his film and theater scores, and as first tenor and arranger for The Jesters, an award-winning vocal trio specializing in music of the 1920s and '30s.

The 12-part Emory program features: "Has Anyone Here Seen Kelly?" (Song: C.W. Murphy and Will Letters/ William J. McKenna, 1909; with hand-colored slide illustrations by DeWitt C. Wheeler), "Winsor McCay Presents Gertie the Dinosaur" (Actor interacting with animated film), "Le Spectre Rouge" ["The Red Specter"] (Hand-colored film, Pathe, 1907), "The Acrobatic Fly " (Film made through microphotography--film shot through a microscope; Charles Urban, 1905), "I'm on My Way to Reno" (Song: William Jerome/Jean Schwartz, 1910; illustrated by DeWitt C. Wheeler), "Sebastian Boswell III, the Human Blockhead: Mr. Reed Kirk Rahlmann" (Live act), "Le Cochon Danseur" ["The Dancing Pig"] (French film, Pathe, 1907), "The Great Train Robbery" (the first narrative film, hand-colored; Edison, 1903), "Beautiful Eyes" (Song: Geo. Whiting and Carter De Haven; Ted Snyder, 1909), "Suspense" (Film; Rex, 1913), "The Baseball Glide" (Song: Andrew Sterling and Harry Von Tilzer, 1911) and "Le Voyage dans la lune" ["A Trip to the Moon"] (Actors behind the screen create voiceover for the silent film; Melies, 1905).

In addition to the public performance, there will be a matinee for invited metropolitan Atlanta high school students.

Generous support for the performance and related residency activities comes from The Coca-Cola Foundation.

MISSION OF THE RESIDENCY PROGRAM

The mission of the Emory Coca-Cola Artists-in-Residence Series is to substantially increase the depth, diversity and profile of performing arts education in the Emory and greater Atlanta communities by providing opportunities for meaningful contact with the finest and most significant artists and arts scholars from throughout the world. Artists whose work reflects international and diverse cultural dimension are engaged for extended periods of time during which they provide Emory and Atlanta area students with teaching, master classes, individual study and lectures culminating in a public performance of their work. The residencies embrace collaboration with other major arts and educational organizations in Atlanta in order to reach the widest possible audience.

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