Butch & Sundance, Bonnie & Clyde, Luke, Leia & Han: Summer movies are back at The Kentucky

After two years off, the Kentucky Theatre seems to be trying to make up for lost time with a 2022 Summer Classics Series boasting some of the biggest blockbusters ever.

Among the titles are “Star Wars” (1977 — the one some of you may refer to as “A New Hope”), the original 1961 version of “West Side Story,” “The Godfather” (1972), and one of the Bondiest of James Bond movies, “Goldfinger” (1964), which was set and filmed in part in Kentucky. As always, there’s a Hitchcock film, “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (1956); a noir favorite, “The Big Sleep” (1946) with Bogie and Bacall; and it all closes out with “The Big Lebowski” (1998). There is also a nod to the recent passing of one of the screen’s greatest icons with “A Patch of Blue” (1965), starring Sidney Poitier.

The series runs Wednesdays May 25 to Sept. 7. Tickets will go on sale soon for the series, which boasts a matinee and an evening showing. Here are the dates and movies, so you can start marking your calendar.

Kentucky Theatre Summer Classic Movie Series schedule

• May 25: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969)
• June 1: “Roman Holiday” (1953)
• June 8: “Star Wars” (1977)
• June 15: “A Patch of Blue” (1965)
• June 22: “Goldfinger” (1964)
• June 29: “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
• June 6: “The Big Sleep” (1946)
• July 13: “An American Werewolf in London” (1981)
• July 20: “Sleeping Beauty” (1959)
• July 27: “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967)
• Aug. 3: “Stand By Me” (1986)
• Aug. 10: “The Man Who Knew Too Much” (1956)
• Aug. 17: “West Side Story” (1961)
• Aug. 24: “Shakespeare in Love” (1998)
• Aug. 31: “The Godfather” (1972)
• Sept. 7: “The Big Lebowski” (1998)

Visit kentuckytheatre.org for more information about Summer Classics and everything happening at the re-opened Kentucky Theatre.

Verge, BCTC Theatre

As the decline in COVID infections continues, more and more theatres are returning to the stage, including to distinctive troupes:

▪ On the Verge is a theater company that presents plays almost exclusively outside traditional theatre venues, setting shows in locations such as a historic home, a boutique, and a funeral parlor. Next month, the theater returns with its first production since 2019, Anton Chekhov’s “Uncle Vanya” at Hopemont, also known as the Hunt-Morgan House, at 201 N. Mill St. In 2009, On the Verge presented Lillian Hellman’s “The Little Foxes” in the same location. The show, 7 p.m. June 8 to 12 and 15 to 19, features a cast of well-known Lexington actors led by Shayne Brakefield, who just finished leading ActOut Theatre Group’s production of “The Normal Heart.” Due to the nature of the venue, audiences are very limited. Tickets are $50 and available at ontheverge.org.

▪ Bluegrass Community and Technical College Theatre has a track record of inventive and engaging performances attracting more attention than you might expect for a community college theatre troupe. During the pandemic, the company created a number of virtual theatrical experiences for audiences hungry for performances despite the need for social distancing. But May 12 and 13, BCTC Theatre returns to the stage with William Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing,” featuring the program’s director Tim Davis and Dunbar High School Theatre director Alicia Henning as rivals Benedick and Beatrice. This production was delayed from October, due to the surging Covid pandemic at that time The production is outdoors at the BCTC Winchester Campus Amphitheater, 2020 Rolling Hills Lane. Gates open at 6 p.m. and showtime is 7 p.m. each night. Get tickets through the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center box office by calling 859-425-2550 or visiting lexingtonky.gov/about-downtown-arts-center.

Ky playwright Catherine Bush honored

Kentucky native Catherine Bush’s ode to Appalachian life, “Kentucky Spring,” won the annual Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights at the Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Va., and is playing at the theater through May 22. Bush is now the artist-in-residence at the Barter, the longest-running professional theater in the United States. Prior to connecting with the Virginia theater, Bush wrote plays presented by numerous local theater troupes including Danville’s West T. Hill Community Theatre and Pioneer Playhouse. At the latter, she wrote “A Jarful of Fireflies,” in celebration of the 50^th anniversary of the filming of “Raintree County” in Danville, a Civil War Epic starring Elizabeth Taylor. Visit bartertheatre.com or call 276-628-3991 for tickets and more information about “Kentucky Spring,” with music and lyrics by Dax Dupuy.

Lexington Philharmonic update

The Lexington Philharmonic has announced changes to its May concert and its search for a new music director. The conductor of its May 21 concert at the Singletary Center for the Arts, 405 Rose St., was expected to be Keitaro Harada, the final candidate for the music director and conductor post. But Harada has withdrawn from the search. That, and a previously announced withdrawal, means there will be four finalists for the artistic head of the orchestra: Thomas Heuser, Akiko Fujimoto, Kelly Corcoran, and Julia Tai. Corcoran has also served as interim artistic advisor to the Philharmonic during the COVID pandemic, which interrupted the conductor search. The orchestra expects to announce its new music director this summer.

Harada will not be conducting the season finale concert. Stepping in for him will be Mélisse Brunet, a French conductor currently living in Iowa City, Iowa, where she is Director of Orchestral Studies at the University of Iowa-School of Music. Brunet will conduct the program previously announced for the 7:30 p.m. May 21 concert: Loren Loiacono’s “Smothered by Sky,” Sergei Prokofiev’s “Symphony No. 5,” and Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Piano Concerto No. 3” with soloist Xiayin Wang. Visit lexphil.org or call 859-233-4226 for tickets.