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My wife Anne and I have been trying to make it to all of the holiday movies playing for free at our wonderful local theater, The Playhouse. Saturday afternoon, the movie was “White Christmas” with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. As we walked down to the theater, I expected our typical experience at the movies. Some nice, fresh popcorn, and sitting in community with at least a handful of others who still believe in seeing movies on the big screen. The cold air and the walk invigorated me on the way down. I was pleased to see that the seats were quite full. I have sat in the theater plenty of times with only a handful of others, so this was already a remarkable day. The smell of popcorn greeted us as we entered the theater. We found our seats, and I went to the concession window for our usual popcorn and a drink. Back in our seats, we chatted with people around us and everyone seemed to be in a good mood.
The lights dimmed and the movie started to play, but there was no sound. There was a clatter at the back of the theater as Tom, the manager, went upstairs to try and troubleshoot the problem. The chatter in the audience resumed. An announcement was made that Tom was working on things, but it might take a few minutes. The movie started again several times with the same result. The opening credits rolled silently by and then the actors appeared on screen, only mouthing their lines. One of the board members of the Playhouse got up and talked about upcoming movies, showing off a magnificent white hat that looked like a giant snowball on her head. She was stalling for time, of course, but she did it with style, a sense of humor, and grace.
Tom asked for patience as he rebooted the system to try to fix the problem. He is well aware of the first thing that IT always tells you to do - “turn it off and turn it back on again”. Conversations picked back up. Two young boys (ages 1 and 3) from a family we know in town cavorted at the front of the audience, providing real entertainment as the parents tried to corral them while understanding that these kinds of situations try the patience of kids this age. I was encouraged by the patience demonstrated by the parents, especially once the boys’ attention was drawn to the Christmas tree at the front of the theater. There were plenty of ways for two curious kids to get themselves into trouble.
Tom started the movie again, still trying to determine how to correct the stubborn problem. This time, he let it roll a little further with subtitles turned on. After the opening scene, Bing Crosby was on stage singing, “White Christmas”. With the lyrics scrolling across the bottom of the screen, a couple of audience members started singing along. Others joined in, and soon the song could be heard clearly throughout the theater. Just at a point where we were starting in on a second chorus, the sound on the movie magically turned on. The crowd cheered and clapped at this development. Tom started the movie from the beginning; this time with sound, and we all settled back into our seats to enjoy the show.
No one got mad. A few people left, but the majority of us waited things out. We watched the antics of the two young boys, talked to friends, neighbors, and even to strangers. We all sang together in this community building that has been showing movies since 1919. We laughed at the old movie, marvelled at the elaborate dance numbers, and all clapped at the end. Even though it was a small thing in a small town in Vermont, it felt a little like a Christmas miracle.
