Rounding out these effective (and affective) updates of its fairy tale source are Lloyd Hughes’s amusingly named Waite Lifter - a Prince Charming-heir to a manufacturing fortune, initially disguised as a humble iceman - and a most unlikely Fairy God father in Jack Duffy’s Fire Chief, who recognizes Ella’s beauty behind the unintentionally humorous façade of a beauty contest photo entry. The flickering elements so masterfully conveyed by Eddington’s performance on the Grand Barton commenced with Colleen Moore’s undimmed presence in the title role, her Ella Cinders an orphan and work-abused young woman slaving for an appropriately wicked stepmother (Vera Lewis as Ma Cinders) and an effectively imperious pair of unworthy stepsisters (Doris Baker and Emily Gerdes as Lotta and Prissy). The Silents, of course, were never really silent, and as Duck Soup Cinema’s original series name from its early 1980’s incarnation shows - when Gaylord Carter was the first Grand Barton performer for Civic Center and Oscar Mayer Theater’s “The Sound of Silents” - the continuity provided by Eddington’s masterful organ accompaniment once again brought out the moviegoing experience of nearly a century past for a Madison, Wisconsin Overture Center and Capitol Theater audience. Transitioning to the dimming of lights and the start of the silent feature, Capitol Theater’s star fixture of its 91-year-old Grand Barton Organ took over in the capable performing hands of returning organist Jelani Eddington, whose original, film-length composition of musical themes, evoking both character and setting for this 93-year-old film, brought out the comedy and pathos of Duck Soup Cinema’s first showing of Colleen Moore in 1926’s Ella Cinders. Guitar-strummed and vocal-shouted to the rhythmically solid support of her Rousing close, Columbian Latin Rock performer Angela Puerta energetically Melodically lush compositions to assured advantage with a soft and resonant Up next was singer/songwriter Danielle Crim,Ī high school junior who performed her own emotionally affective and ![]() Jaw-dropping feats of dance and dexterity with her spinning, tasseled objects First up was baton twirler Tara Harris, who performed Talented young women who impressed first with strong talent and second with Soup Cinema’s first 2019 silent feature, the three performance spots similarly featured Appropriate to the female-centric notion of Duck Punchlines without setups, and, most importantly, boundless enthusiasm for the His own tried-and-true brand of cornball fun, courtesy of lightbulb jokes, Their parents hastened to the refreshment stand, MC Joe Thompson contributed The Rube” Carter, who distracted kids with magic, balloon, and tricks while ![]() The Hollywood Hopeful’s rise to Celluloid Princess finds delightful expression in its backlot look at silent-era moviemaking and Colleen Moore’s Ella Cinders, like her folklore forebear, provides powerful identification in her story book-like embodiment of the centuries-old dreams-come-true myth, delightfully reimagined for the Silent Silver Screen.Īlong with returning lobby acts Wayne the Wizard and Jim “Doc As the film’s smalltown Colorado setting moves westward to an emerging entertainment industry’s land of dreams, Hollywood itself, the initially downtrodden title character’s fairy tale transition to a working movie actress perfectly mirrors its uniquely 20 th century legend of Discovery and Stardom. A Jazz Age reworking of the Cinderella legend, based on a nationally syndicated comic strip written by William Counselman and illustrated by Charles Plumb (making Ella Cinders an early comics movie!), the familiar story elements receive a clever boost thanks to the plucky playing of its female lead. Madison, Wisconsin’s Overture Center and its historic Capitol Theater opened 2019 with Duck Soup Cinema’s vaudeville show, silent film presentation, and theater accompaniment of popular 1920’s actress and comedian Colleen Moore in Ella Cinders (1926). ORGANIST: JELANI EDDINGTON Colleen Moore as Ella Cinders (right) and Vera Lewis as Ma Cinders (left) in ELLA CINDERS (1926). PRESENTED: JANUARY 19, 2019/CAPITOL THEATER, OVERTURE CENTER
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