Uptown! lights up Silver Screen in April and

WEST CHESTER—Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center is once again lighting up its big screen for the Spring. First, the Chester County performing arts venue is one of the local spots for the regional premiere of the Magnolia Films and Sundance Film Festival selection, Little Richard: I Am Everything, this rockin’ documentary will screen Tuesday April 11, 7 p.m.

Uptown’s $5 Movie Mondays return with the classic Judy Garland and Fred Astaire musical, Easter Parade, on Monday April 17 at 7 p.m. and the fantastical Disney classic, Fantasia, set to an epic classical music score, on Monday, May 22 at 7 p.m. All $5 Movie Mondays include free popcorn. Uptown! will also host some of the events of the 17th Annual West Chester International Short Film Festival April 28 — 30. Ticket prices vary for each performance. Every film is at Uptown! Knauer Performing Arts Center at 226 N. High Street and Mac’s Foxhole Lounge and Bar are open for every event. For more about this show, other concerts and upcoming events, visit uptownwestchester.org or call (610) 356-2787.

Little Richard: I Am Everything (film)

Tuesday, April 11, 7 p.m.Tickets: $15

Magnolia Pictures is releasing Little Richard: I Am Everything for special onenight-only theatrical screenings on April 11, followed by additional theaters and a digital release on April 21.

$5 Movie Monday

Easter Parade, Monday, April 17, 7 p.m. Tickets: $5 including free popcorn

Just in time for spring, Easter Parade! From the 1940’s studios of hit-maker MGM, and starring Fred Astaire (who stepped in after Gene Kelly broke his ankle) and Judy Garland, this classic big musical also features Peter Lawford and Ann Miller in her MGM debut. With a score by Irving Berlin, this film became a box office hit and re-established Astaire as an audience favorite.

In this romantic comedy, a nightclub performer hires a naive chorus girl to become his new dance partner to make his former partner jealous and to prove he can make any partner a star. He doesn’t realize that his new dance partner has “leftright confusion.” Romance, happy endings, and 16 fullscale dance numbers all add up to a perfect family film for April.

Fantasia

Monday, May 22, 7 p.m.; Tickets: $5, including popcorn

If you’ve never seen Walt Disney’s Fantasia on a big screen, now is the time. The backstory is that the animated character Mickey Mouse was declining in popularity and Disney was seeking to revive its image. Disney was working on a short film, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and as production costs rose, he decided to create a feature length film. Fantasia is a collection of animated interpretations of great works of Western classical music, ranging from the abstract to depictions of mythology and fantasy, and settings including the prehistoric, supernatural and sacred. Presented as a concert, Bach, Beethoven, Stravinsky, Stokowski, Dukas, Ponchielli and other brilliant composers are matched to each gorgeous sequence — and there is even a jazz “intermission.”

The 17th Annual West Chester Film Festival will be held from Friday, April 28 — Sunday, April 30, 2023. The festival presents short films that are 30 minutes or less from around the world. During the weekend they will show over 50 films from 2-minute comedies to 30-minute dramas and everything in between.