Sinatra Centennial Activities @CCSU

New Britain Herald, Sunday, September 13, 2015 9:15 pm

SCENE @ CCSU: Radio specials, film screenings to mark Sinatra's 100th 

By the CCSU Office of Marketing & Communications

CCSU’s year-long celebration of Frank Sinatra’s birth centenary continues this fall with a variety of activities, including free films, a panel discussion, an evening lecture, a weekly radio show, and will culminate on the singer’s 100th birthday in December with a 24-hour music marathon on the campus station, WFCS, 107.7 FM.

The CCSU Alumni Association will show three free movies as part of its “Classic Fridays” series: “From Here to Eternity” (1953), featuring Frank’s Academy-Award winning performance, on Sept. 18; the Cold War classic “The Manchurian Candidate” (1962) on Oct. 30; and Sinatra’s sole directorial effort, “None But the Brave” (1965), on Nov. 13. Each film begins at 2 p.m. in Torp Theatre in Davidson Hall and will be introduced by a different CCSU faculty expert: Brian Folker and Lee Einhorn, associate professors in the English Department, and Jerold Duquette, associate professor of Political Science. No tickets or reservations are required.

On Friday, Oct. 2, at 2 p.m., also in Torp Theatre, the English Department will screen the powerful civil rights film “Kings Go Forth” (1958), starring Sinatra, Natalie Wood and Tony Curtis. The movie will be followed by a panel of CCSU professors: Carol Austad from the Peace Studies Program; Beverly Johnson from African-American Studies; Thom Delventhal from the Theatre Department; and Karen Ritzenhoff from Cinema Studies. Both the film and panel are free and open to the public.

At the Lucy Robbins Welles Library in Newington, our own Sinatraphile Gilbert Gigliotti, professor of English, will host a three-film Sinatra series on Wednesdays in October and November: Hollywood legend Frank Capra’s “A Hole in the Head” (1959) on Oct. 7; Sinatra’s greatest collaboration with Gene Kelly, “On the Town” (1949) on Oct. 21; and the great World War II escape film “Von Ryan’s Express” (1965) on Nov. 4. All movies are free and begin at 6:30 p.m.

On Thursday, Dec. 3, from 6-8:30 p.m., CCSU’s Continuing Education Department will kick off its new cabaret-style speaker series with “The CLASS-ic Sinatra,” an evening celebrating the life and art of Ol’ Blue Eyes, with Gigliotti’s discussion (including music and video excerpts) of why Sinatra still matters. The small cost of $20 will support the scholarship fund of College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences (CLASS) and include hors d’oeuvres, coffee, and tea. A cash bar also will be available to toast the Birthday Boy his way. The program will be held at CCSU in Memorial Hall’s Constitution Room.

CCSU has celebrated Sinatra regularly since 1993 on its weekly radio show, “Frank, Gil and Friends” (Tuesdays 8-10 a.m.), on WFCS and wfcsradio1077.com. But on Saturday, Dec. 12, Frank’s birthday, WFCS is planning something special: a Sinatra marathon from midnight-11:59 p.m. What could be a more fitting way to fete the man who toasted his audiences with, “May you live to be 100, and may the last voice you hear be mine!”

Mark your calendars and join us this fall at CCSU — where the Sinatra Centennial is Central!