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SCREENING

Opening Night

Ongoing

Location: Redstone Theater

Dir. John Cassavetes. 1977, 144 mins. 35mm. With Gena Rowlands. Opening Night is one of cinema’s finest portrayals of aging, and a superb exploration of acting. Rowlands gives a virtuoso performance as Myrtle Gordon, a successful but increasingly neurotic actress in her forties, conflicted about portraying an older woman, a role too close to the skin. Myrtle is haunted by hallucinations of an alluring teenage female fan, a symbolic image of a younger self, whose car accident she blames herself for. As reality starts to blur with dreams and the actress and character begin to merge, Myrtle reveals some profoundly uncomfortable truths about “the gradual lessening of [her] power as a woman” (as one character puts it) in the public eye.

Tickets: $15 ($11 seniors and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / free for children under 3 and Museum members at the Film Lover and Kids Premium levels and above). Order tickets online(Members may contact [email protected] with questions regarding online reservations.)

Ticket purchase includes same-day admission to the Museum (see gallery hours). View the Museum’s ticketing policy here. For more information on membership and to join online, visit our membership page.