It was probably 1965. My grandmother had gotten tickets to take my younger sister and me to see the Detroit premiere of "The Sound of Music."
It was a big deal. We got all dressed up and went downtown to see it at a theater that I remember being known as The Cinerama. Everything was big and lush and grand. We sat in the balcony, where the sound was spectacular, as was the picture.
To this day, "The Sound of Music" remains one of my favorite movies and musicals. When my daughter the budding singer was in first grade and they were doing a local production of it in Traverse City, I took her to try out for the littlest Von Trapp. She couldn't read yet, so it was with great pleasure that I taught her the song lyrics and lines, then sat through countless rehearsals and about 20 performances after she got the part.
At home, we watch both the video and DVD a few times a year. However, viewing it on the small screen has always paled in comparison to my bigger-than-life memory of seeing it that first time. I assumed it would always be like that.
Until the State Theatre showed "The Sound of Music" a few weeks ago. Even though I've seen it a thousand times and can recite most of the songs and much of the dialog from memory, watching it at the State was like the first time all over again.
My daughter couldn't be there, but I took my 11-year-old niece. We sat in the balcony, where the sound was spectacular, as was the picture. The film was shown as its creators intended, right down to the overture and intermission music being played with the curtains down, then dramatically rising as the visual part of the film began to roll. It was a true theatrical experience, as it was when it premiered.
It's not the first time that the State Theatre has shown an old classic with its new technology and screen.
Where else do you get to see such films brought to life in a big way, where you notice scenery and details that get lost on our small home screens?
Because of the State, my niece was able to experience the same thing a great-grandmother she never got to meet gave my sister and me more than 40 years ago.
It was a treat for me. I hope it was for my niece, too — maybe even something she'll remember in another 40 years.
Reach Kathy Gibbons at gibbonskath@yahoo.com.
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