More About MOVIE: A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN - FREE
The Ridgefield Playhouse celebrates women in sports during Woman’s History Month.
While men were away fighting during World War II, women helped with the war effort at home. Some temporarily replaced men at work. Some, like the women baseball players portrayed in A League of Their Own, helped keep America’s favorite pastime alive. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), founded by Chicago Cubs owner and chewing gum manufacturer, Philip K Wrigley, was a way to keep the ballparks thriving during the war. Over 600 women played in the league during its existence from 1953 to 1954 and was the forerunner to women’s professional sports in the United States.
A League of Their Own, directed by Penny Marshall pays tribute to the AAGPBL’s most successful team, The Rockford Peaches, in a fictionalized story starring Tom Hanks, Gena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell. Beginning in present day at the Baseball Hall of Fame, the film returns to their ball playing years, sharing the passion, strength and courage of these women who found themselves with new roles and new freedoms.
After the film, Reel to Real moderator, Cheryl Washington will lead a discussion about women in sports.
While men were away fighting during World War II, women helped with the war effort at home. Some temporarily replaced men at work. Some, like the women baseball players portrayed in A League of Their Own, helped keep America’s favorite pastime alive. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL), founded by Chicago Cubs owner and chewing gum manufacturer, Philip K Wrigley, was a way to keep the ballparks thriving during the war. Over 600 women played in the league during its existence from 1953 to 1954 and was the forerunner to women’s professional sports in the United States.
A League of Their Own, directed by Penny Marshall pays tribute to the AAGPBL’s most successful team, The Rockford Peaches, in a fictionalized story starring Tom Hanks, Gena Davis, Lori Petty, Madonna, and Rosie O’Donnell. Beginning in present day at the Baseball Hall of Fame, the film returns to their ball playing years, sharing the passion, strength and courage of these women who found themselves with new roles and new freedoms.
After the film, Reel to Real moderator, Cheryl Washington will lead a discussion about women in sports.
Date & Time
March 15, 2024
7:00pm
Location
The Ridgefield Playhouse
80 E. Ridge St
Ridgefield, CT 06877
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MISSION | HISTORY
THE MISSION OF THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE, AS A NON-PROFIT PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, IS TO ENTERTAIN, ENRICH AND EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITY AND SURROUNDING AREAS AND TO INSPIRE PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS.
After many years of planning, fundraising, and building, the dream of restoring the Cass Gilbert Jr.-designed theater in Ridgefield became a reality with our December 2000 opening night performance by Jose Feliciano.
Since our opening, enthusiastic, sold-out audiences have enjoyed Peter Yarrow, Marcel Marceau, Barbara Cook, Moscow Boys Choir, Joan Baez, and The Bacon Brothers and more recently, Michael Feinstein, Gregg Allman, Clint Black, The Doobie Brothers, Brian Wilson, Diana Krall and more. Film-goers have been treated to question-and-answer sessions with many of the movie industry’s finest, including Ron Howard, Harvey Keitel, Tim Robbins, Barry Levinson and more, as part of our film society events, which screens both feature and documentary films. Community events such as the Ridgefield High School Orchestra Concert and the Annual Town Meeting found a new home at The Playhouse, not to mention a place for local dance companies to perform. Children have been enjoying our children series as well as our after-school programs and summer camp. Comedians such as Martin Short, Dana Carvey, Jackie Mason, Joan Rivers, Kathy Griffen, Robert Klein, Ron White and many others have been making audiences laugh here while speakers such as Ira Glass, David Sedaris, and Stephen Sondheim have shared their insight and journey.
Our Arts in Education and outreach programs in addition to various series that deal with real teen issues not only fulfill our mission but also complete our sense of purpose. And of course, our free outdoor Shakespeare on the Green and Green Expo have become an annual “thank you” to all who support us.
While we can all agree with Shakespeare that “the play’s the thing,” we also know that this beautiful theater adds a great deal to the experience of a performance or movie. In an age of multiplexes and stadiums, what a pleasure to be in an impeccably renovated, historic theater with near-perfect acoustics!
NOTABLE BEGINNINGS, LEGENDARY PERFORMANCES
Designed in 1938, the auditorium in “the old high school” (now the Richard E. Venus Municipal Center) was at one time the center of Ridgefield’s cultural life. In its heyday, before being abandoned in 1972, it was home to school performances as well as community events and town meetings. During World War II, residents had the privilege of twice hearing the legendary Arturo Toscanini conduct here.
In its new life, The Ridgefield Playhouse has been designed to embrace its former role and more. The interior preserves the hall’s excellent acoustics, which make it an ideal venue for musical performance and live theater.
At the same time, retractable draperies cover the walls enabling the “deadening” effect needed to show movies. Thanks to a generous legacy from Patricia Schuster, founder of the Ridgefield Studio of Classical Ballet, the stage was built to have the resilience necessary for dance performances. Parts of the old stage rigging have been preserved and supplemented to enable use of the stage’s large fly space. Stage lights and a state-of-the-art sound system have been installed.
Echoing the importance of the town of Ridgefield in the theater’s life is a hand-painted mural covering the lobby walls with familiar scenes of historic Ridgefield. The mural, a gift from a Ridgefield couple, was created by a local artist. Other murals enliven the interior of the performance area as well as the entryway to The Playhouse; all were gifts of Playhouse supporters.
THE MISSION OF THE RIDGEFIELD PLAYHOUSE, AS A NON-PROFIT PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, IS TO ENTERTAIN, ENRICH AND EDUCATE OUR COMMUNITY AND SURROUNDING AREAS AND TO INSPIRE PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS.
After many years of planning, fundraising, and building, the dream of restoring the Cass Gilbert Jr.-designed theater in Ridgefield became a reality with our December 2000 opening night performance by Jose Feliciano.
Since our opening, enthusiastic, sold-out audiences have enjoyed Peter Yarrow, Marcel Marceau, Barbara Cook, Moscow Boys Choir, Joan Baez, and The Bacon Brothers and more recently, Michael Feinstein, Gregg Allman, Clint Black, The Doobie Brothers, Brian Wilson, Diana Krall and more. Film-goers have been treated to question-and-answer sessions with many of the movie industry’s finest, including Ron Howard, Harvey Keitel, Tim Robbins, Barry Levinson and more, as part of our film society events, which screens both feature and documentary films. Community events such as the Ridgefield High School Orchestra Concert and the Annual Town Meeting found a new home at The Playhouse, not to mention a place for local dance companies to perform. Children have been enjoying our children series as well as our after-school programs and summer camp. Comedians such as Martin Short, Dana Carvey, Jackie Mason, Joan Rivers, Kathy Griffen, Robert Klein, Ron White and many others have been making audiences laugh here while speakers such as Ira Glass, David Sedaris, and Stephen Sondheim have shared their insight and journey.
Our Arts in Education and outreach programs in addition to various series that deal with real teen issues not only fulfill our mission but also complete our sense of purpose. And of course, our free outdoor Shakespeare on the Green and Green Expo have become an annual “thank you” to all who support us.
While we can all agree with Shakespeare that “the play’s the thing,” we also know that this beautiful theater adds a great deal to the experience of a performance or movie. In an age of multiplexes and stadiums, what a pleasure to be in an impeccably renovated, historic theater with near-perfect acoustics!
NOTABLE BEGINNINGS, LEGENDARY PERFORMANCES
Designed in 1938, the auditorium in “the old high school” (now the Richard E. Venus Municipal Center) was at one time the center of Ridgefield’s cultural life. In its heyday, before being abandoned in 1972, it was home to school performances as well as community events and town meetings. During World War II, residents had the privilege of twice hearing the legendary Arturo Toscanini conduct here.
In its new life, The Ridgefield Playhouse has been designed to embrace its former role and more. The interior preserves the hall’s excellent acoustics, which make it an ideal venue for musical performance and live theater.
At the same time, retractable draperies cover the walls enabling the “deadening” effect needed to show movies. Thanks to a generous legacy from Patricia Schuster, founder of the Ridgefield Studio of Classical Ballet, the stage was built to have the resilience necessary for dance performances. Parts of the old stage rigging have been preserved and supplemented to enable use of the stage’s large fly space. Stage lights and a state-of-the-art sound system have been installed.
Echoing the importance of the town of Ridgefield in the theater’s life is a hand-painted mural covering the lobby walls with familiar scenes of historic Ridgefield. The mural, a gift from a Ridgefield couple, was created by a local artist. Other murals enliven the interior of the performance area as well as the entryway to The Playhouse; all were gifts of Playhouse supporters.
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