Town Hall Theater Presents:

"The Look of Silence" Screening and Q&A

Saturday, November 15 at 7:00 PM in the Anderson Studio

Middlebury College student Devin Santikarma, affiliated with the New Perennials Project, presents the free film The Look of Silence.

The Look of Silence is Joshua Oppenheimer’s powerful companion piece to the Oscar®-nominated The Act of Killing. Through Oppenheimer’s footage of perpetrators of the 1965 Indonesian genocide, a family of survivors discovers how their son was murdered, as well as the identities of the killers. The documentary focuses on the youngest son, who decides to break the suffocating spell of submission and terror by confronting the men who killed his brother and asking them to accept responsibility for their actions.

The film will be followed by a Q&A with Devin Santikarma, and his father Lgustimade Santikarma, who is an Indonesian genocide survivor.

Doug Anderson's "The Hollywood Musical" Part 1

FALL 2025: THE EARLY YEARS 1930-1952

Mondays at 7:00 pm Oct. 27, Nov. 3, Nov. 17, Nov. 24

Tuition: $120

Part history class, part film festival, THT's Founder and Resident Director Doug Anderson guides you through the golden age of Hollywood musicals the way they were meant to be experienced: on the big screen.

Each session starts with Doug sharing insights about the studios, directors, and stars who shaped the era. Then settle in to watch one of the defining musicals of those years on the THT Rothrock Mainstage.

The 4-session Fall course will explore the early years, when Hollywood searched for ways to transfer the success of Broadway musicals into film, only to realize that film – and especially the moving camera – opened up entirely new possibilities for the musical.

THE FILMS

October 27: THE GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (1933)

This early “backstage musical” features Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler and the astounding staging and camera work of Busby Berkeley, who reinvented the movie musical in the 1930s with 6 major films for Warner Brothers.

November 3: TOP HAT (1935)

The classic pairing of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers, who eventually made 9 films together for RKO. Music and lyrics by the incomparable Irving Berlin.

November 17: SHOWBOAT (1936)

One of the most successful transfers from Broadway to the big screen, starring Helen Morgan and Paul Robeson, with an unforgettable score by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II.

November 24: SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1952)

Perhaps the most thoroughly delightful film ever made, it frequently turns up on lists of The 10 Greatest American Movies. With Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds.

Coming Spring 2026:

BROADWAY ON FILM 1945-1975

February 9 – March 2, 2026
Registration opens in the new year

Town Hall Theater Presents:

The Loop: Laurel Jenkins & Moira Smiley

Thursday, November 20 at 6pm in the Anderson Studio

Have you ever wanted to be part of the artistic process? Town Hall Theater is presenting a new series called The Loop that invites you direclty into the creations of professional artists. The launch event of The Loop features the interdisciplinary partnership of dancer/choreographer Laurel Jenkins and singer/composer Moira Smiley on Thursday, November 20th.

Join us at 6pm for a happy hour, followed by a work-in-progress performance in the Anderson Studio. 

About Laurel Jenkins

Laurel Jenkins is a dancer, choreographer, educator, and mother. Her choreography emerges from rigorous experimentation and interdisciplinary dialogues in the realms of contemporary dance, opera, music, and theater. She is an Assistant Professor of Dance at Middlebury College in Vermont.

Jenkins’ work has been presented by Lincoln Center, Disney Hall, REDCAT, Automata, the Getty Center, Show Box LA, Danspace, Berlin’s Performing Presence Festival, Tokyo’s Sezane Gallery, and Paris’ Cité Internationale des Arts. She choreographed Bernstein’s MASS with the LA Phil and the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra. In addition, she has choreographed for LA Contemporary Dance Company, The Wooden Floor, and many universities including UNL. 

About Moira Smiley

Moira Smiley is a Grammy-nominated singer, composer, and educator renowned for her mastery of the voice and ability to inspire singers of all levels. She's published over 100 choral works that are sung by millions of singers worldwide. With a deep respect for the cultural roles of singing, Moira blends teaching, composing, and performing to empower communities and celebrate the transformative power of music.

Known for her rich voice and dynamic stage presence, Moira has collaborated with some of the most celebrated names in music, including Tune-Yards, Eric Whitacre, Chris Thile, Hilary Hahn, and Morten Lauridsen. As a member of Tune-Yards, she has performed on major platforms such as Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, and the UK’s Later.

Town Hall Theater Presents:

Clint Bierman’s Listening Room

A Musical Journey Featuring
More than 20 Unheard, Personal Songs

Saturday, November 22 at 7pm in the Anderson Studio

Legendary local musician Clint Bierman of the Grift debuts his most personal songwriting from the past two decades. This intimate “listening room”  will feature “songs from the vault and his most vulnerable work,” Bierman says. Audience members will enjoy a sneak peek of a new album in development, presented by Bierman, who will be accompanied by a three-piece band. It’s an immersive listening experience made for music lovers.

Clint Bierman is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, band leader, and educator who has made a serious mark on the Vermont music scene. Clint has been performing professionally for more than 20 years and founded The Grift with Jeff Vallone in 1999. Since then, he has recorded 10 original albums with Grift members past and present.

Town Hall Theater Presents:

Ted Perry Trio Holiday Show
Featuring: Ryan Montbleau

Sunday, December 7 at 5:30pm in the Anderson Studio

*Happy Hour in Jean’s Place Lounge – 4:30-5:30 PM

Celebrate the season in style at Town Hall Theater’s new Anderson Studio, overlooking the river, with a holiday jazz concert featuring The Ted Perry Trio and special guest Ryan Montbleau from 5:30 to 6:45 PM.

Arrive early for happy hour beginning at 4:30 PM in Jean’s Place Lounge and the Hare & the Dog Bar, offering beer, wine, specialty cocktails, and non-alcoholic beverages in a cozy new space adjacent to the studio.

The Ted Perry Trio Holiday Show invites audiences to enjoy classic holiday favorites alongside heartfelt, genre-blending tunes that highlight both Perry’s expressive piano artistry and Montbleau’s acclaimed vocals.

Theatre Group Ltd Presents:

Night Fires

Directed by Marianne Lust

December-19-21 

*Preshow begins 20 minutes prior to showtime.

 "Night Fires audiences come to the theater as individuals and, afterwards, head out into the night as a knitted-together community with shared memories of words, songs and images to store up in dreams and waking hours like the best seasoned firewood, ready for the long winter nights ahead."

Night Fires, a Vermont tradition since 1982, weaves together song, story, poetry, and dance to honor the Winter Solstice.

This year's performance imagines the first-ever Interdependence Day celebration in a Vermont park on the longest night of the year. 

THT and Opera Company of Middlebury Present:

The MET: Live in HD:
I Puritani 

Saturday, January 10 at 1:00pm in the Anderson Studio

Estimated Run Time:
3 hrs 45 mins, with one intermission

For gorgeous melody, spellbinding coloratura, and virtuoso vocal fireworks, I Puritani has few equals. This is the first new Met production of Bellini’s final masterpiece in nearly 50 years with a striking staging by Charles Edwards, who makes his company directorial debut after many successes as a set designer. The Met has assembled a world-beating quartet of stars, conducted by Marco Armiliato, for the demanding principal roles. Soprano Lisette Oropesa and tenor Lawrence Brownlee are Elvira and Arturo, brought together by love and torn apart by the political rifts of the English Civil War, with baritone Artur Ruciński as Riccardo, betrothed to Elvira against her will, and bass-baritone Christian Van Horn as Elvira’s sympathetic uncle, Giorgio.

Town Hall Theater Presents:

Great Art Wednesday -
"Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood"

Wednesday, February 11 at 11:00am 
In the Anderson Studio

Great Art Wednesday is a monthly art exhibition film series running from October 2025 to May 2026.

Heir to Velázquez, a hero to Picasso. Discover Spain’s celebrated artist with this cinematic tour de force based on the National Gallery’s must-see exhibition Goya: The Portraits.

Francisco Goya is Spain’s most celebrated artist and considered the father of modern art. Not only a brilliant observer of everyday life and Spain’s troubled past, he is a gifted portrait painter and social commentator par excellence.

Goya takes the genre of portraiture to new heights and his genius is reappraised in a much-anticipated landmark exhibition at The National Gallery, London.

Town Hall Theater Presents:

Great Art Wednesday -
"Turner and Constable"

Wednesday, March 11 at 11:00am
In the Anderson Studio

Great Art Wednesday is a monthly art exhibition film series running from October 2025 to May 2026.

Celebrating the 250th anniversary of their births, this unmissable new documentary explores Turner and Constable’s intertwined lives and legacies alongside the groundbreaking Tate exhibition.

Two of Britain’s greatest painters, J.M.W. Turner and John Constable were also the greatest of rivals. Born within a year of each other, both used landscape painting to reflect the changing world around them. Tate Britain is bringing these two greats together for a groundbreaking exhibition, in London from November 2025 to April 2026, and Exhibition on Screen once again has exclusive and privileged access to bring their extraordinary art and remarkable stories to the big screen.

Discover unexpected sides to both artists with intimate views of sketchbooks and personal items and insights from leading experts.

Turner’s blazing sunsets and sublime scenes from his travels and Constable’s idealised depictions of beloved places from home whipped the public of the time into a frenzy of enthusiasm. Constable represents the very best of the old school of realism and pastoral nostalgia; Turner, an exciting new way of depicting emotion and dreamlike impressions. Critics compared their starkly different styles to a clash of ‘fire and water’. Don’t miss this opportunity to see these greats side-by-side, as they so often were in life, on the big screen for the first time.

Town Hall Theater Presents:

Great Art Wednesday -
"Renoir: Reviled & Revered"

Wednesday, April 11 at 11:00am
In the Anderson Studio

Great Art Wednesday is a monthly art exhibition film series running from October 2025 to May 2026.

Pierre Auguste Renoir is known and loved for his impressionist paintings of Paris which rank among the world’s favourites. Renoir, however, grew tired of this style and changed course.
This stunning film – based on the remarkable Renoir collection at Philadelphia’s Barnes Foundation – explores the artist’s new approach. These later works still provoke extreme reactions – some people are repulsed by them and others seduced.

Two 20th century titans– Picasso and Matisse are intriguingly among the many artists who were clearly influenced by Renoir’s later direction. This film is a new biography of an artistic giant – Renoir – but also uncovers an untold story that identifies him as a significant link between the art world’s old order and the new.

‘‘There ought to be a similar film for every gallery in the world, enabling access for people who would never get to visit them otherwise.” Jonathan McAloon, Apollo Magazine

‘‘Unmissable.” Irene Olivio, Film-News

Town Hall Theater Presents:

Great Art Wednesday -
"Girl with a Pearl Earring"

Wednesday, May 6 at 11:00am
In the Historic Rothrock Theater

Great Art Wednesday is a monthly art exhibition film series running from October 2025 to May 2026.

‘The Girl with a Pearl Earring’ by Johannes Vermeer is one of the most enduring paintings in the history of art. This beautifully filmed documentary goes in pursuit of answers to the unresolved riddles surrounding this extraordinary piece.

Holland’s distinguished Mauritshuis is home to the painting and is a stunning jewel of a gallery.
Enjoying exclusive access, the film’s main focus are the key works housed here. Interpretation of these major treasures offer insights into Vermeer and his most famous work and are interwoven with Vermeer’s life story and behind-the-scenes footage.

“The gallery going experience – minus the jostling” National Post, Canada

“Stunning Paintings in high-definition glory” This is London

THT and Opera Company of Middlebury Present:

The MET: Live in HD:
Eugene Onegin

Saturday, June 20 at 1:00pm* in the Anderson Studio

Estimated Run Time:
4 hrs 15 mins, with two intermissions

*Please note, this is an encore screening and will not be shown live.

Following her acclaimed 2024 company debut in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, soprano Asmik Grigorian returns to the Met as Tatiana, the lovestruck young heroine in this ardent operatic adaptation of Pushkin. Baritone Igor Golovatenko reprises his portrayal of the urbane Onegin, who realizes his affection for her all too late. The Met’s evocative production, directed by Tony Award–winner Deborah Warner, “offers a beautifully detailed reading of … Tchaikovsky’s lyrical romance” (The Telegraph). Timur Zangiev has his debut conducting at the Met.