The whole film runs on a big screen while an orchestra plays Craig Armstrong's score live underneath, holiday needle-drops and all. The setting does the work here: Kings Theatre is a 1929 Loew's Wonder Theatre in Flatbush, restored down to the gilt and the three thousand seats, a very different room from a multiplex. If you rewatch this every December, do it once in a movie palace.
What to expect
A single evening screening of the complete film with a live orchestra in the pit performing the score in sync with the picture. Expect an audience that sings along to the pop numbers, and a chance to see the restored auditorium's ceiling, chandeliers and gilded plasterwork before the lights go down.
Good to know
- Take the Q to Beverly Road or the B and Q to Church Avenue; the theatre is on Flatbush Avenue between them.
- Get there early enough to actually look at the restored 1929 interior before the house lights drop.
- It is a large house, so upper-level seats are usually the value play for a screening.
- Flatbush Avenue has plenty of food nearby if you want to eat before rather than after.
- This is a sing-along-friendly crowd rather than a silent-cinema one.
- Book ahead — holiday film-with-orchestra nights tend to move fast at this venue.
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Common questions
Is the whole film shown?
Yes. The complete film plays on a large screen while the orchestra performs the score live in time with the picture, rather than a highlights or clips format.
What is Kings Theatre?
A 1929 Loew's Wonder Theatre on Flatbush Avenue that sat derelict for decades and reopened after a major restoration; it is one of the largest theatres in Brooklyn.
Is it family friendly?
The film is a romantic comedy with adult language and content, so it suits teens and adults more than young children.
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