Correction appended.
The Phantom of the Opera is here at Ohio University.
The Southeast Ohio History Center, 24 W. State St., will screen the silent version of The Phantom of the Opera on Sunday accompanied by the music of Dennis James, a professional organist.
The event will be held in the sanctuary of the history center, which is a church built in 1917 and opened in 1919. Tickets are $30 for nonmembers and $24 for members.
Cyrus Moore, who is a member of the Ohio History Service Corps, said the center often hosts events.
“All of our events are to raise money to put on more events to accomplish our mission of preserving and sharing southeast Ohio history,” Moore said.
James is an accomplished musician that has played at locations across the world, and this isn’t the first time he has been to the history center. He accompanied a Charlie Chaplin film on the organ last April.
“When he was here in April, he played the hell out of it, and we’re looking forward to hearing him play it again,” Moore said.
Ryan Higgins, a sophomore studying business, said the event sounded interesting, but the cost would prevent her from going.
The history center is encouraging people to buy tickets early, as the event is expected to sell out due to limited seating.
The silent film version that will be shown is from 1925 and “fits in nicely with the halloween theme,” Moore said.
Nicole Reynolds, an associate professor of English, thinks the event is a “fantastic idea” even though she and her family are unable to attend.
“I’d love to take my kids to that,” she said.
James grew up in the ’50s, when television channels would screen old silent films as cheap programming in mornings and afternoons. He recalls turning off the sound to stop the music that wasn’t synchronized with the film and telling his mother that he heard better music in his head.
“This affinity for things of the past has lasted throughout my professional career,” James said in an email.
Though James is an accomplished musician who has taught many students, he said his love for the organ is unaffected by commercialized success.
“That very commercialization is what enabled my love of the organ for being able to devote up to ten hours a day during my academic life to practicing the instrument,” James said in an email.
Correction: A previous version of this report misstated Cyrus Moore's affiliation with the Ohio History Service Corps. The article has been updated to reflect the most accurate information.
