They are celebrating 90 years at the Riviera Theatre, but the place has never looked better. Friday night May 5th they will present a gala evening which will include food, fun and a look back.
According to Director of Development Gary Rouleau, the special event will celebrate "the history of the Riv and the 90 years, remember we went from demolition in the 80's to regional destination in celebrating 90 years."
The centerpiece of the big party will be the showing of a 1926 silent film called "Upstage". It's the same movie that was shown opening day of the Riviera, ninety years ago. It stars Norma Shearer as a young starlet, looking for a showbiz career and ending up at the wrong end of a knife throwing act..
The real drama came in trying to locate a copy of the film. Operations manager Jim Pritchard says "we had a lot of feelers out-apparently it's not a movie they tried to preserve." Fortunately, a print was located in England. It will be shown with World Renown Silent Film Accompanist Clark Wilson on the Mighty Wurlitzer.
Tickets for the Gala are available at the Hollywood Store at McKinley Mall, The Riviera Box Office, at the door and on line at their website
