The historic Palace Theatre located at 1615 Euclid Avenue (photo from playhousesquare.org)

In my last post, I covered the Capitol Theatre and their ‘Classic Movie and Brunch’ series.  However, the Capitol is just one venue in Cleveland where you can see classic movies on the big screen.  Before the Capitol started their monthly series, there was PlayhouseSquare’s annual Cinema at the Square festival.  

Now in its 13th year, Cinema at the Square runs for a few weeks in August and gives audience members the opportunity to experience classic favorites at the beautiful Palace Theatre.  Visiting the Palace for the history alone is worth it – it opened in 1922 as the flagship of B.F. Keith’s vaudeville chain and once showcased the likes of Fanny Brice, Bing Crosby, Houdini, Bob Hope, Frank Sinatra and The Three Stooges.   

The series’ movies are shown on the theatre’s 20-foot-high by 47-foot-wide super Hurly-Glo projection screen – the largest non-Imax screen in Ohio.  This year’s Cinema at the Square started yesterday, August 5th, and will run until August 22nd.  It features 16 films with a range of options for moviegoers, such as a sing-along Wizard of Oz, James Bond double feature, and The Muppet Movie.  

Prior to the film, audience members are treated to pre-show organ recitals on a restored 1927 Kimball Organ that contains 16 sets of pipes, a xylophone, Glockenspiel, a complete set of drums and cymbals. The organ, which was donated to PlayhouseSquare in 1975, was restored by volunteers as a unique complement to the evening festivities.   

Tickets for Cinema at the Square are $5 each with the exception of yesterday’s screening of Fletch which was free.  If this wasn’t already a cheap datenight, PlayhouseSquare also offers their FlixTIX pass which saves 50% on tickets.  It’s $15 for 6 vouchers, which can be used in any combination and at any movie. Because Scott and I were interested in seeing more than one movie, it ended up being more cost-effective to get the FlixTIX – so now we’re seeing Wizard of Oz, Love in the Afternoon and Back to the Future.  

I’m definitely excited about heading over after work tonight for the sing-along version of Wizard of Oz.  I’ve only seen bits and pieces of it before, so it’ll be nice to experience the whole movie at the Palace.  But if Wizard of Oz isn’t for you or you can’t make it tonight, here’s a list of the rest of the movies:  

• Adam’s Rib (August 7th, 2pm)
• Casablanca (August 7th, 8pm)
• The Adventures of Robin Hood (August 8th, 2pm)
• Love in the Afternoon (August 12th, 7:30pm)
• A Hard Day’s Night (August 13th, 7:30pm)
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (August 14th, 2pm)
• Psycho (August 14th, 8pm)
• A Streetcar Named Desire (August 15th, 2pm)
• Back to the Future (August 19th, 7:30pm) (**YP Night at the Cinema starts at 6pm**)
• The Natural (August 20th, 7:30pm)
• Gremlins (August 21st, 2pm)
• Goldfinger (August 21st, 5:30pm)
• The Spy Who Loved Me (August 21st, 8pm)
• The Muppet Movie (August 22nd, 2pm)

Cinema at the Square 411:
Ticket and Show Information
The Palace Theatre
@playhousesquare
PlayhouseSquare on Facebook