The silent film era returns to the big screen at the Blazing Star Grange in Danbury with the screening of a classic silent comedy accompanied by live music. Showtime is Saturday, March 19 at 7 PM. Featured will be a full-length comedy, Grandma’s Boy, starring Harold Lloyd, the most popular movie star of the 1920s. All are welcome to this family-friendly event.

The screening will feature live accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based composer who specializes in creating scores for silent films. He performs on a digital synthesizer to reproduce the texture of the full orchestra and create a traditional “movie score” sound.

Grandma’s Boy tells the story a cowardly young man (Harold Lloyd) who seeks the courage to battle a menacing tramp who terrorizes his small hometown. In revival, Grandma’s Boy continues to delight movie-goers and serves as a great example of the magic of silent film. It also provides a marvelous window into small-town American life as it was lived a century ago.

The Blazing Star Grange decided to include silent film in its programming to give the public a chance to experience the great films of cinema’s early years as they were intended: in restored prints, on the big screen, and with live music and an audience.

“These films are still exciting experiences if you show them as they were designed to be screened,” Rapsis said. “There’s a reason people first fell in love with the movies, and we hope to recreate that experience. At their best, silent films were a communal experience very different from today’s movies – an experience in which the presence of a large audience intensifies everyone’s reactions.”

The program is open to the public. Admission is free, with a suggested donation of $5 per person to defray expenses. For more information, call 252-444; for more information on the music, visit JeffRapsis.com.