Diva - stylish French thriller

 Diva

Saturday, May 27 at 7 PM

An opera singer, drug smuggling, corrupt police, a wild chase scene, two scandalous tapes, colorful characters, wild sets: Diva has it all.

 

Diva single-handedly launched the Cinéma du look, an explosion of visually stunning, punk-inspired, super-cool French movies in the early ‘80s.

 

It was so ahead of its time, only 100,000 people had seen it at the end of its first year, but as word got around, it became a a smash art house film.

 

WHAT THE CRITICS SAID ABOUT DIVA IN 1982:

 

“Every shot seems designed to delight the audience. If Diva is about anything, it is about the joy of making movies.” — Pauline Kael, The New Yorker

 

“A visual extravaganza. One of the most persistently entertaining, absorbing and scary thrillers I’ve seen in a long time...Diva’s chase scene deserves ranking with the all-time classics, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The French Connection, and Bullitt.”— Roger Ebert

 

“You have only to watch 10 minutes of Diva and you know you are in the hands of a man born to make movies. Sensual, funny, outlandish, this is a movie devoted to strictly to the pleasure principle."— David Ansen, Newsweek

 

“A piece of divine madness, full of comedy romance, opera and murder. Diva is a thriller with a new way of looking at the world — through a glass, brightly.”— Michael Sragow, Rolling Stone

 

“Diva is not only the most purely pleasurable movie to open here this year, but surely one of the finest films to arrive from France in a decade.”— J. Hoberman, The Village Voice

 

“A razzle-dazzle sendup of thrillers...high-spirited and outrageous.” — Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

 

“Funny, exciting, moving, mysterious and beautiful to look at...I love Diva.”— David Overby, Film Comment

 

“An extraordinary thriller. Complex, stylish and fast-moving, Diva is a superior piece of entertainment.”— Variety

 

“The most impressive debut from a French director since Godard’s Breathless.”— Jay Scott, The Globe and Mail

 

 

Tickets are $10 and available at Highway 61 Coffeehouse and the door.

DIVA - Trailer from Rialto Pictures on Vimeo.

Women Talking coming to the Strand

 

Actress Sarah Polley directs this adaptation of the novel by Miriam Toews. In a cloistered religious community women have been abused systematically, and the time has come to decide what to do about it. If anything.

A great cast...

Oscar winner for best adapted screenplay.

Tickets $10 at Highway 61 Coffeehouse and at the door...

Don't forget: free popcorn! What a world!

Where? The Strand Theatre 717 Clay Street Downtown Vicksburg

When? Saturday, April 8 at 7 PM

Everything Everywhere all at Once

Everywhere including the Strand. Saturday, April 1 at 7 PM. 

Winner of lots of Oscars: Best Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Picture, and Directors...

Avenue Q returns!!!

Performances at 

the Strand Theatre: 717 Clay Street:

 

Friday, March 17 - 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 18 - 7:30 PM

Sunday, March 19 - 4 PM

Friday, March 24 - 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 25 - 7:30 PM

Sunday, March 26 - 4 PM

 

 

It's rare that the Westside Theatre Foundation does the same show twice, but they are presenting an encore run of Avenue Q, which was last at the Strand in 2017. "It was a popular and successful show back then, and many have encouraged us to bring it back," according to Jack Burns, director of the show (then and now). "But I think the most influential opinions were of the puppets themselves. And Paul Salgado, who is producing the show." Avenue Q is a musical comedy which looks a lot like an episode of Sesame Street. It takes place on a city block and features young people who need life lessons, which are supplied by a group of singing puppets. But Avenue Q has definitely not been authorized or approved by Jim Henson Company or Sesame Workshop, which have no responsibility for its content. The characters who need advice are twenty somethings, and the the lessons they learn are about becoming adults. "So, I'd call it R rated: not for kids, in other words."

The show involves a dozen or more puppets which all had to be hand made by Burns and a number of volunteers he refers to as the Acme Puppet Factory. "We could have rented puppets, but where's the fun in that? First we had to make them, then we had to figure out how to effectively operate them while singing, talking, and acting. Stacey Schrader was our puppeteering coach first time around. So, after the show was over, we put all the puppets in the balcony where they've been watching whatever we do for the last six years. They wanted back on the stage. I could see it in their eyes."

In addition to all the puppets, Tessa Scandizzo returns as Kate Monster, along with Cameron Gates as Trekkie Monster, and Brian T. Sessums as Rod. New cast members had to be found for several roles including Crorey Lawton as Princeton; Nia R. Hurst as Gary Coleman; Izvistia Robertson as Christmas Eve; Hunter Weeks as Brian; Mark Jourdan as Nicky; and Ashley Schutt as Lucy.

Advance tickets are available for $20 at Highway 61 Coffeehouse, and online: (click here.) Online tickets will have a service charge added.

 

They will be $25 at the door.

Princeton and Lucy (a puppet of questionable morals)

Strand Theatre - Best Performing Arts Venue? It could be...

The Strand has been nominated as Best Performing Arts Venue in Mississippi Magazine's 2023 Best of the Best List.

Okay, it's not the grandest, or most prestigious. It's undeniably funky. But we are justifiably proud of the fun, educational, sobering, mystifying and even entertaining things we bring to Vicksburg: Films you may have heard about (or not), local and regional musicians, outrageous and/or amazing community theater... And we're always gratified when people travel from the surrounding counties and parishes to see something here they couldn't otherwise find.

So, here's your chance to help spread the word about our little operation. Imagine the confusion if we were to end up on top of the list!

Don't forget: seeing a film at the Strand gets you free popcorn! What a world!

Vote now