The National Theatre's Skylight at the Grand!

Ellsworth, Maine - The Grand screens the acclaimed revival of David Hare's Skylight as part of the 2014-2015 season of high-definition performances live from the London stage at 2 pm on Thursday, October 23rd. General admission tickets are $17 for adults, $15 for seniors, $14 for Grand members, $12 for students, and $10 for youth 12 and under, and are available at The Grand Box Office, by phone (207) 667-9500, or online at www.grandonline.org.

One of the biggest hits in London this past summer, this production stars Bill Nighy (Love Actually, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel) and Carey Mulligan (Inside Llewyn Davis, The Great Gatsby) and is directed by Stephen Daldry (The Audience), the entirety of which will be broadcast live from the West End by National Theatre Live at The Grand in Ellsworth. On a bitterly cold London evening, schoolteacher Kyra Hollis (Mulligan) receives an unexpected visit from her former lover, Tom Sergeant (Nighy), a successful and charismatic restaurateur whose wife has recently died. As the evening progresses, the two attempt to rekindle their once passionate relationship only to find themselves locked in a dangerous battle of opposing ideologies and mutual desires.

So bring a friend and share the experience of seeing one of the world’s finest theaters presenting a

The National Theatre's War Horse Encores at the Grand!

Ellsworth, Maine - Because the live screening of the live play of the classic novel War Horse in February was so well-received, The Grand announces two encore presentations of the high-definition performance from The National Theatre of London on Thursday, April 10^th. A special showing for students in sixth grade and up is at 10 am and a public screening is at 6 pm. The student screening is specially priced at $3 per person and reservations are required; please call the box office for more information. The evening presentation is $14 for Grand members, $17 for adults, $15 for seniors, $12 for students, and $10 for youth 12 and under. Tickets are available at The Grand Box Office, by phone (207) 667-9500, or online at www.grandonline.org.

Based on the novel by Michael Morpurgo (the same source material as the Steven Speilberg film of the same name), War Horse is the powerful story of the young boy Albert and his beloved horse, Joey, who has been requisitioned to fight for the British in World War I. Caught in enemy crossfire, Joey ends up serving on both sides during the war before landing in No Man’s Land, while Albert, not old enough to enlist, embarks on a treacherous mission to find his horse and bring him home.  A remarkable tale of courage, loyalty, and friendship, War Horse features ground-breaking puppetry work by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, which brings breathing and galloping horses to life on stage. 

So bring a friend and share an encore of the experience of a play containing a performance The Observer called a “triumph of theatricality”- NT Live’s HD simulcast of War Horse on screen at The Grand.

The Grand is proud to be presenting, in addition to this special encore, NT Live, a series of high definition simulcasts and encore performances from The National Theatre of London, which includes Academy Award® winner Sam Mendes directing Simon Russell Beale as King Lear on Thursday, May 1^st, as part of its commitment to presenting theater in all of its forms.  For more information about this, or any of The Grand's other events check out  www.grandonline.org. Or follow The Grand on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Grand-Auditorium/112755987339.

The National Theatre indulges The Habit of Art at the Grand!

Ellsworth, Maine - The Grand announces the next in a series of high-definition encore performances from  The National Theatre of London – a presentation of The Habit of Art, starring the late Richard Griffiths (the Harry Potter films’ “Uncle Vernon” and star of both the play and film adaptation of The History Boys) as the poet W. H. Auden, in Alan Bennett’s acclaimed look at creativity and inspiration, on Thursday, November 7th at 2 pm. General admission tickets are $17 for adults, $15 for seniors, $14 for Grand members, $12 for students, and $10 for youth 12 and under, and are available at The Grand Box Office, by phone (207) 667-9500, or online at www.grandonline.org.

National Theatre Live’s 2010 broadcast of Bennett’s The Habit of Art, with Richard Griffiths, Alex Jennings, and Frances de la Tour, returns to cinemas as part of the National Theatre's 50th anniversary celebrations. Benjamin Britten (Jennings), facing difficulties with his new opera Death in Venice, seeks advice from his former collaborator and friend, the poet W. H. Auden (Griffiths). During this imagined meeting, their first for twenty-five years, they are observed and interrupted by, amongst others, their future biographer and a young man from the local bus station. Alan Bennett’s play is as much about the theatre as it is about poetry or music. It looks at the unsettling desires of two difficult men, and at the ethics of biography. It reflects on growing old, on creativity and inspiration, and on persisting when all passion is spent: ultimately, on the habit of art.

So bring a friend and share the experience of a play The New York Times’ Ben Brantley called a “compassionate satire of the whims, follies and fears of show people”- NT Live’s HD encore of The Habit of Art on screen at The Grand.

The Grand is proud to be presenting NT Live, a series of high definition simulcasts and encore performances from The National Theatre of London, which includes the upcoming high definition presentation of Shakespeare’s searing tragedy of political manipulation and revenge Coriolanus, with Tom Hiddleston (“Loki” of The Avengers and Thor, the film version of War Horse, and BBC’s The Hollow Crown) in the title role and Mark Gatiss (Season’s  Greetings at the National Theatre and “Mycroft Holmes” on BBC’s Sherlock) as Menenius, on January 30th at 2 pm.

A full schedule can be found online at www.grandonline.org. Or follow The Grand on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Grand-Auditorium/112755987339.

The National Theatre brings “The Magistrate” to the Grand!

Ellsworth, Maine - The Grand brings the National Theatre of London’s “The Magistrate” as the next in a series of high-definition simulcast performances. Academy Award nominee and Tony Award-winner John Lithgow (“Dirty Rotten Scoundrels”, “Shrek”, “3rd Rock from the Sun”) takes the title role in Arthur Wing Pinero’s uproarious Victorian farce, directed by Olivier Award-winner Timothy Sheader on Thursday, January 17th at 2pm!

In a similar vein to the National Theatre’s smash-hit classic comedies, “She Stoops to Conquer” and “London Assurance”, The Magistrate is classic comic farce. When amiable magistrate Posket (John Lithgow) marries Agatha (Olivier Award-winner Nancy Carroll), little does he realize she’s dropped five years from her age – and her son’s. When her deception looks set to be revealed, it sparks a series of hilarious indignities and outrageous mishaps.

This is the best of British acting brought LIVE to the screen at The

The National Theatre brings “The Last of the Haussmans” to the Grand!

Ellsworth, Maine - The Grand announces the next in a series of high-definition simulcast performances from The National Theatre of London – a production of the eagerly anticipated new play “The Last of the Haussmans” starring Julie Walters and Rory Kinnear on Tuesday, October 11th at 2pm!

Directed by Howard Davies, “The Last of the Haussmans” tells the story of anarchic, high society drop-out Judy Haussman (Julie Walters- “Educating Rita”, “Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows”) who remains in spirit with the Ashrams of the 1960s while holding court in her dilapidated Art Deco house on the Devon coast. After an operation, she’s joined by wayward offspring Nick (Rory Kinnear) and Libby (Helen McCrory), sharp-eyed granddaughter Summer, local doctor Peter, and Daniel, a troubled teenager who makes use of the family’s crumbling swimming pool. Together they share a few sweltering months in this chaotic world of all-day drinking, infatuations, long-held resentments, free love and failure.

The simulcasts from London are part of The Grand’s high-definition offerings that also include the Metropolitan Opera 2012-2013 season.  “This is the best of British acting beamed directly to Ellsworth,” explained Grand Executive Director, Zoe Alexis Scott.  “Just like the opera, it’s an opportunity to engage in cultural offerings from around the world without having to live in New York or London.” The Observer calls The Last of the Haussmans … “a knockout – entertaining, sad and outrageous.”

Bring a friend and share the experience at The Grand. The National Theatre of London’s high-definition simulcast performance of “The Last of the Haussmans” starring Julie Walters and Rory Kinnear will play on Tuesday, October 11th at 2pm.

Tickets are: $17 General Admission, $15 for Seniors, $14 for Members, $12 for Students and $10 for Youth, 12 and under, and available at The Grand Box Office (207) 667-9500 or online at www.grandonline.org.

The Grand is proud to be presenting the NT Live  a series of simulcasts from The National Theatre of London, including the upcoming “Timon of Athens” the Shakespearean classic directed by Nicholas Hytner (“The Madness Of King George”, “The History Boys”) on Tuesday, November 1st at 2pm!

A full schedule can be found online at www.grandonline.org. Or follow The Grand on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Grand-Auditorium/112755987339.