Last Updated on November 1, 2022 3:38 pm
BOONE, NC – The excitement in the air was electric on Monday, November 14, 1938 as localresidents and curiosity-seekers throughout the High Country and beyond gathered on KingStreet for the “Gala Opening Program” of the Appalachian Theatre in Boone, NC.
So many people wanted to be in the first day audience of “Western Carolina’s Finest Theatre”that the opening festivities were repeated three times that day at 3:45, 7 and 9 p.m. Thecombined attendance was estimated in the media at approximately 3,000 persons in the then997-seat venue, meaning that each of the three programs was completely sold out.
Eighty-four years later to the day – also on a Monday – the App Theatre is hosting a freecommunity-wide drop-in event to commemorate the birthday of the venerable landmark on KingStreet. Planned activities include a photo booth, face painting, “Twist, the Balloon Man,” birthdaycupcakes, a classic newsreel, and screenings of several family-friendly short animated films,among other surprises. The free event takes place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Guests will see vintage classics featuring Mickey Mouse, Popeye the Sailor, and Zorro.
Executive Director Suzanne Livesay said, “It’s a come and go event, so drop in when you canjoin us and stay as long as you please. No advance reservations are required for this nonticketedevent. It’s simply a chance for our wonderful community to help us celebrate thebirthday of their Appalachian Theatre.”
The program will include one of the components from the opening program on November 14, 1938. Walt Disney’s “Brave Little Tailor” will be among the screenings during the 84th BirthdayCelebration. The animated short film is an adaptation of the fairy tale “The Valiant Little Tailor”with Mickey Mouse in the title role. It was directed by Bill Roberts and features original music byAlbert Hay Malotte. The voice cast includes Walt Disney as Mickey, Marcellite Garner as Minnie,and Eddie Holden as the Giant. It was the 103rd short in the Mickey Mouse film series to bereleased, and the fifth for that year.
“Brave Little Tailor” was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film atthe 11th Academy Awards in 1939, but lost to “Ferdinand the Bull,” another animated short byDisney. In 1994, it was listed as the 26th greatest cartoon of all time by members of the animationfield in a list compiled for the book The 50 Greatest Cartoons.
Popeye the Sailor and his girlfriend Olive Oyl co-star in “A Date to Skate,” an animated shortfilm, released on November 18, 1938, just four days after the Appalachian Theatre opened thatsame week, month, and year. Our hero takes Olive roller skating in a rink; she's never skatedbefore, so he has to teach her, and she's not exactly a quick learner. After a while, she ends upoutside the rink, and still out of control; she skates through a department store and causes majortraffic problems. When she gets stuck on a speeding fire truck, Popeye realizes he'll need hisspinach, but he's out. Fortunately, an audience member tosses him a can and Popeye is off tothe rescue.
“Zorro’s Fighting Legion” (1939) stars Reed Hadley as the fictional character created in 1919by American pulp writer Johnston McCulley. Zorro (Spanish for ‘fox') is typically portrayed as adashing masked vigilante who defends the commoners and indigenous peoples of Californiaagainst corrupt and tyrannical officials and other villains. His signature all-black costumeincludes a cape, a hat known as a sombrero cordobés, and a mask covering the upper half ofhis face.
In the stories, Zorro has a high bounty on his head, but is too skilled and cunning for the bumblingauthorities to catch, and he also delights in publicly humiliating them. Because of this, thetownspeople started calling him “El Zorro” due to his foxlike cunning and charm. Zorro is anacrobat and an expert in various weapons, but the one he employs most frequently is his rapier,which he uses often to carve the initial “Z” on his defeated foes, and other objects to “sign hiswork.” He is also an accomplished rider, his trusty steed being a black horse called Tornado.
Being one of the earliest examples of a fictional masked avenger with a double identity, Zorroinspired the creation of several similar characters in pulp magazines and other media and is aprecursor of the superheroes of American comic books, with Batman drawing particularly closeparallels to the character.
For a complete performance schedule of all upcoming events, or to sign up for the theatre’s eblastdistribution list, visit the organization’s website at www.apptheatre.org