Organs were originally included in movie theaters to accompany silent films.
The Ohio Theater is an old movie palace built in the 1920's. It's located downtown, across the street from the Statehouse. CAPA has restored the theater (and continues to do so), while specifically retaining the means for actually showing movies. Every summer, the CAPA movie series shows a variety of films. This year's schedule included Grease, The Princess Bride, Caddyshack, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Sound of Music, North by Northwest (Hitchcock), Sunset Boulevard and Dr. No. Today, I saw Charade, starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. Great movie! Movies are shown in two parts, with a brief intermission in the middle. Both before the movie and during the intermission, and organist plays on one of the enormous, tricked out organs that were used to accompany silent films before movies became "talkies." The organ is on a platform that sinks into the stage when the show starts, so that it doesn't obscure the screen. Overall, a delightful experience. (Tickets are cheap too, around $3.50.)
