Ep. 88: "The Phantom of the Opera" Behind the Scenes at the Alabama Theatre

0:13 Thank you. Hey y'all, it's me Tara Strong, aka Miss Minutes for Bama Geeks. I hope you're ready to watch, and if you don't, I will have to prune you. Stay on your sacred timeline. Hey, hey, hello. Hello.

0:55 Good Sunday evening with the Bama Geeks. We are thrilled that you are with us. We are live on YouTube. And I'm sorry I'm looking down. I'm already trying. And I want to ask, do you guys remember who I am? Yeah. It's been a while, right? That's Kevin. We got him back. I promise, guys. I've been on a journey. Well, again, we thank you so much for joining us. I'm Brock Parker. Yes, Kevin is back. And then Jess is way over there. And so is Bo. And right in the middle, we've got the man of the hour. We've got... Mr. Gary W. Jones from the Alabama Theater.

1:37 Yay! Yes. I'm going to start channeling my inner Paul Lind if I'm going to be the center square. Absolutely. We love Paul. Yes. You would expect nothing less. Nothing less. And in the chat, Darnay Olson. Howdy, howdy, howdy. Hello. Hey, Darnay. Hey. Thank you so much for joining us. And if you've got any questions or any comments for Gary as the stream goes along. Careful. There are certain words that we've been cautioned that Gary doesn't like. We went over it in our member exclusive stream.

2:19 I did not say I didn't like those words. I just said it's questionable to use them. I use them daily. I'm sure Bo does too. But Gary is with the Alabama theater and we love him and we're so thrilled to have him back. We had him on earlier this year and we're going to have him on as much as he wants to come on. All he has to do is ask. So when you text, you're like, before you got you out, it's like, I'm in. Whatever it is, let's go. Could you hide a body for me?

3:03 He's like, we don't necessarily have to talk about the theater. What else do you want to talk about? I know how to hide a body. I have grown up in unincorporated Jefferson County. I have places. There are a lot of places. All right. All the local stores do not sell lime to Gary. Yes. Gary, I'm pretty sure you just went on a list. Another one. Another one. Also, if you're using lime, you're an amateur. Okay. Boy, we knew. Yikes. There we go. Well, talk about how to get flagged by YouTube.

3:50 Yeah. The only bad press is no press, right? Well, if their AI is smart enough to figure that out, then we're all screwed anyway. I was speaking YouTube of this kind of thing. Yes, the lime. You put the lime in the coconut. Yeah. Or the gin and tonic. He knows how to make a mean Cuba Libre, you know. Oh, my. Well, we got a lot of fun stuff coming up in October at the Alabama Theater, and that's what Gary is here for. And I cannot wait to hear. I know of one thing coming to the Alabama. I don't know the whole thing, so I want to hear everything that you want to talk about.

4:33 Well, just briefly, the October is full. So there's all kinds of different shows focusing on Halloween. On the twenty fifth of October, we have Hocus Pocus and that's a one showing only. So that'll be a lot of fun. That's going to sell out. No, no. We have a costume contest this year. We've never done that. Oh, my gosh. Special specialty cocktails with eyeballs in them. So that would be fun. They're gummies. They're gummies. They literally were the conversation we were just at. I didn't know. I know.

5:16 The second word we're going to use is clarity. Clarification. Clarification. And then, of course, our annual production of the nineteen twenty five Lon Chaney silent classic Phantom of the Opera will be Sunday, October twenty seventh at two o'clock. And that that that is we always talk about the American Theatre Organ Society, the Alabama chapter of the American Theatre Organ Society and the parallel universe that we run in geekdom nerding with the Bama Geeks. But this for us, for the organ nerds, this is like prom.

5:58 So biggest day of the year. It's a great event. I can never oversell it, no matter how enthused I seem about it or how great I tell you it is. Once you come and experience that show, you will leave a changed person. I'm not saying hopefully, you will leave changed. It's a wonderful presentation with a very, very talented incredible organist, Tom Helms, who comes. This will be his forty fifth year in a row to do this. He started doing it. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. No, no.

6:39 He's been doing this since nineteen seventy nine. And we do it every year. We did it even during covid. We were we managed to make it work and we made it work and we did it. It's a terrific show. We'll talk about the show in and of itself and the movie specifically. If you'd like... Yes. It was only the thumbnail for the live stream. That's right. That's why you're here. There are so many things I can say about Phantom of the Opera. Let me the movie itself is, is it's, it's not a horror movie and everybody thinks, Oh, it's a horror movie.

7:28 It is not, it is not, it is, it is a story of love and betrayal. And that is, that is the basic premise of the story. And what you have are, uh, people who I very much can relate to today trying to further their career and maybe going down a path that they really shouldn't in order to achieve that career result. And that is the premise of the film. Now, this is nineteen twenty five. It's a silent film. So we're lucky that we have Big Bertha, the mighty Wurlitzer Theater pipe organ doing exactly, precisely what she was built to do.

8:14 And that is accompany this film. And of course, when you have a maestro such as Mr. Helms at the console, he has created this original score I we've shown it forty five times. I think I've only missed one of those performances. And in each year, it's a little fresher. He's refreshed it and and made a couple of changes here and there just to keep it different and lively. But what I always tell people, if you've never seen a silent film before, is it's come. not expecting anything or, you know, expecting whatever you want. But what you're going to get out of it is going to be all of a sudden very, very different than the realization that you're thinking this is a silent film about three to five minutes in the most significant repeated comment that I get from patrons about three to five, maybe seven minutes in is it's like, I forgot it was a silent film.

9:16 I forgot there was an organ. I forgot there was a man down there playing for ninety six minutes nonstop. And it's because his masterful score weaves the story in and out. Each character has a musical theme. And he takes each character's musical theme and he will take them and, if I can do this on screen, twist them around and invert them and flip them over. And all of a sudden you're like, wait a minute, that's her theme coming from this juxtaposition in the film. And And if you're a geeky musician like me, I'm just like, clever, clever, clever.

10:00 It's just amazing. And of course, the organ lends itself to all the sound effects that are needed and all the... the classical music that's part of the score, all of the theatrical music that's part of the score. And of course, I'll go into a little bit more detail. This story centers around a young aspiring opera star, and the setting is Paris Opera House. She is there, she's on the rise, she's an understudy, she is trying to make her mark and she is not making any headway there is the the prima donna uh ahead of her and she's one of those uh stage hogs with a stage mother and so they're they're trying all sorts of ways and I'm not really going to give away a whole lot of the film but that basically um There is a character that is living in the bowels of the Paris Opera House.

11:08 He had been in prison there during the revolution and escaped and is living there. And of course, he is he's a genius as far as being able to invent things and do things. And then he does delve into the dark arts, black magic. And so the basic premise of the film is he enters into an agreement with our main character to promote her career. And she is like, yes, I'll do it. I'm all for it. But there's always a but. She does not realize what he's asking for in exchange.

11:50 And so throughout the film, what we find is she is really, manipulating everyone around her. And, uh, I, I feel very, uh, not sorry. What's the word I'm looking for? Uh, for, for the Phantom himself, Eric, uh, because he's, he's, he's presented her with options. She's chosen the options and then she betrays those options. Right. So the whole tale revolves around this and the other characters in the film. And, uh, This movie in nineteen twenty five was an almost instant triumph.

12:35 And of course, you've got a cast of characters that at the time were known names. You had Lon Chaney, who was certainly known just coming off of Hunchback to do this film. And of course, the makeup and prosthetics and all of that, he did himself. Those things in and of itself are worth watching the film alone. And then you have Mary Philbin who plays the lead, Christine Day. And she's hot now. And I mean, not hot like I'm talking like hot ticket items. She's, I've got a list of, she's just come off of Temple of Venus in, and the Gaiety Girl in .

13:21 And here now she, Chaney wanted her. for this particular role. And then you've got Norman Carey, who was very, very handsome heartthrob. And he was also in Hunchback. So Chaney knew of him and wanted him involved with this. And then we have Mary Fabian. And Mary Fabian, believe it or not, from birmingham alabama oh wow yeah and she she plays uh carlotta who is the the main character the lead uh in the paris early on in the film who gets displaced um she was born in in birmingham and had a professional operatic background in training she performed uh internationally as a soprano she did So much and founded the, let's see, I've got to get this correct.

14:24 She founded the American Civic Production Company and founded the Civic Opera Association in Birmingham, which later paved the way for opera in Birmingham. She sang Madame Butterfly over a hundred performances in Italy. And she, she was just highly sought after because she, She could act primarily. Her goal and focus in life was opera. So putting her as the lead character sort of in an operatic situation was just a natural fit. Now, she, I'm sorry, I don't mean to interrupt, Jess, but this picture here shows her.

15:07 She's getting sworn in. This is in WWII. She's in World War II. She was sworn in as a WAC. And went overseas and entertained audiences and entertained soldiers. And so she served in the Army Corps from, I believe, forty three to forty seven and then came back to Birmingham. So a great tie. in the film from our native city. I had no idea. I didn't even know that. No, I know. I know. Thanks for that. You're welcome. You're welcome. But I always imagine that, you know, here's this...

15:48 She's not a little girl. Here's this little girl from Birmingham winding up in all these different places at such important times in the history of the world, in our country, in the world. So it's always good. But the film runs about ninety six minutes. We do a little entry with the. coffin casket there's there's a difference I can't I can't remember which uh it's I believe it's the shape of of the of the box and then the the phantom comes and does uh his thing out of out of there it's just incredible in the production.

16:34 And then to sit there and play that organ for ninety six minutes, I just it's you know, I'm good to get through a thirteen minute show and it's fine. But anyway, that's that's the basic premise. The show itself is the biggest fundraiser for Big Bertha. It is our annual fundraiser. So all of the net profit goes to the regular ongoing maintenance that we do on the organ. And it funds all the other things that we do throughout the rest of the year. I really can't encourage you enough and oversell it enough.

17:16 I think everyone would thoroughly enjoy it. That's awesome, man. I'm sorry. I was not on the mute button quick enough for Jess. She's got a cough going on. She's enjoying the season like we all have. Yeah. Bo, you should get her to come cut your grass. I mean, it won't matter to her. Yeah, there you go. Hey, yeah, hey. She has a hard time seeing over the handlebars of the lawnmower. Yeah. I will say I'm intimately interested in going and seeing this. I'm definitely going to be getting tickets myself as well to go. I'm working on my second right now to go, my buddy. But I've only ever seen the Andrew Wood Weber versions of it.

17:58 And I really want to see this older version. So there are half a dozen different versions. There was the nineteen twenty nine redub remake. They cut some scenes and added some scenes in nineteen. I think four. Don't quote me here. Forty five mid forties. Let's just say that's all be safe. Redo. And then there was one later on than that. And then, of course, you know. Ruining Phantom, as he did Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber comes in and creates this astounding, gorgeous musical. And of course, the first year after Andrew Lloyd Webber's Phantom of the Opera hits and we're doing our annual showing, which we don't even think anything about it, And we had this one lady who came and she was just furious that this was not the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.

19:02 And in true Gary form, I just put one hand on one hip and I was like, lady, your ticket was five bucks. What did you expect? Even in Birmingham, you're not going to get Broadway musicals. Now we make sure that everything that we say and everything that we do and every ticket and every promo and every social media thing says, And I always go out right before everything starts to get everybody into their seats. Because once we start the show, they've got to stay seated for the first couple of minutes. And I always remind everyone that this is not the Andrew Lloyd Webber production.

19:45 And if you think it is, please see me. And I will not give your money back. I'll smack you about the lobby and we'll go on. And the funny thing is, as we're talking here, I'm chatting with someone via text about the potential of going and seeing this. And they're looking at this and they saw somewhere on the page where it says it's a horror movie. somewhere on the actual page for this says it's a horror movie. They're like, is it a horror movie? And I'm like, no, I'm literally talking to the guy right now that puts it on. It's not a horror movie. No, but I know it gets categorized as a horror movie because the Phantom's figure, his prosthetic, his makeup is very disturbing.

20:40 Even even today. Yeah, it was horrifying in nineteen twenty five. But I, I repeat myself. This is a story of love and betrayal, not a gory horror film. Right. You might need to check your Web site, Gary. I'm not in control of that. You need to talk to the web team because it says film synopsis, the Phantom of the Opera, nineteen twenty five, unrated, ninety three minutes horror. He's like, I got to make a phone call, hang on.

21:25 Take horror down. I'm over here trying to convince these people that it's not horror and that you guys go and put horror on the website. Okay, it's a horror film. It's a horror film for those expecting Android Lloyd Webber. That's the horror. Oh, goodness. I'll check into that tomorrow after my morning gin and tonic. Jess and I, we have only been able to come down to see it once, but it made such a lasting impression.

22:06 We're We're definitely gonna try to get my daughter to come with us this year. Oh, I think she'd love it, yeah. She is a musical person like all of us. I think if you took the body of our American Theatre Organ Society chapter, And you go down the row and say, how did you first or how did you get involved or what connected you to the Alabama Theater and Big Bertha and the Mighty Warlitzer? I guarantee you nine out of ten of them will say, oh, I attended Phantom of the Opera in fill in the blank year.

22:48 It's what hooked me. It's like I had when growing up. My mom was cheap. We never went to the Alabama. We were going to second run neighborhood houses. We were going to the Empire and the Melba because it was cheaper. And good Lord, Mona turns ninety Saturday and she's still she's still out there squeezing a nickel in her craggly hand. She's not watching so I can say that. I won't tell her. Don't tell her. So I had never been to the Alabama growing up.

23:29 We just, we went elsewhere. And in nineteen eighty one, which was the year that I became involved with the Alabama and the American Theatre Organ Society. I was at college and on WBHM, they made the announcement that the Oregon Society was going to be showing this. I thought, hey, that can be kind of fun. Maybe I'll drive down for that. And I was at Jacksonville State, so it was a super easy drive. And I came down and saw it and I was like, holy Hannah Montana, that's just...

24:11 You said that in eighty one. Yeah. What was that? And what is that? And what the hell is that? And as they say, you know, I was hooked and I went the chapter meets every Saturday to work on the organ. And I went back the next Saturday to to see if I could get involved and. As they say, the rest is history. And here we are now. Now I want to hear more about the origin story of Hannah Montana now. Much like the Phantom, I too delve in the dark arts.

24:55 Not too bad with Miley Cyrus, okay? Yes. So I foresaw and foretold Hannah Montana's existence. Well, I don't know whether to be proud of you or not. Whisper to Billy Ray's ear. Be scared. Be scared. It's certainly a sight to behold. I know when Jess and I went, we expected to see the film. We expected to hear the organ. As you said, we did not expect for all of a sudden to be a procession down the aisles.

25:39 Yeah. And then on stage with the cemetery and everything like that. Yeah. Well, in our new... I'm not going to spoil anything, I don't think, but our new lighting director has some tricks up her sleeve. And it's like two or three times a week, she's rushing into where I'm sitting going, what if we did this? And I'm like, yes, yes. So I think, you know, I'm going to get her really hyped up on some kind of chemical that night of. we'll see what happens so so is she like the whoever controls the the lights at bryant denny stadium now yeah like that she has the power I got rgb now watch it full fan of the pink floyd wait am I tripping what's going on what is going on it's like it's like Let me take your ticket.

26:39 And here's your pill. Let us transport you back to nineteen twenty five. And then it starts RGB. Wash that. Wash that pill down with some Tito's handmade vodka. We're there. We're there. So you got that plug in. That's right. We will have a lovely little fun cocktail for both Hocus Pocus and Phantom. Featuring Tito's handmade vodka. Of course, yeah. And gummy. And gummy. An edible gummy. This is going to be a very awesome movie presentation.

27:20 It is a child-approved edible gum. Yeah, right. We got it out of a child-safe container, okay? It's approved. It's all right. Next, your sponsor, Avondale Apothecary. I've heard. It's just a rumor. The rumor. I can't say enough wonderful things about Mr. Helms. Once this film gets underway, he kind of disappears. And as I mentioned, folks say, I forgot he was there.

28:05 And he's like, that is the greatest compliment I can get. is that you get so wrapped up in the characters and so wrapped up in the score. And I point these things out because I want you to look for them if this is your first time, is if they are showing an opera on screen and the singer is in that moment, he is playing the exact lines that she is singing. At one point, they're doing a ballet and he's doing that ballet. You see the orchestra doing their thing down there. He is actually playing the orchestral part of the ballet that's being performed.

28:50 Oh, wow. It's all very, I get chills. It's all very clever. And he's a madman. And I mean that in the best possible way. It's just a genius that he contrives all of this. And later on, he literally plays the ballet in reverse. And it's really creepy and it conjures the devil. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I just convinced someone it's not a horror movie, Gary, so that they would come to me to see this, and now you're saying we're conjuring the devil. It's a southern devil. Okay, so they got to battle over a fiddle?

29:32 Alabama devil. Mama said Phantom of the Opera is the devil. Come see Phantom of the Opera or the devil will get you. There you go. That needs to be your marquee now. Your digital marquee. By the way, we passed, we were driving down I-sixty-five, passed that sign last week. It's time to repaint that. It's getting a little faded. A little fade, yeah. What? The actual sign? Yeah. Yeah, go to church or the devil will get you the sign. Oh, I thought you were talking about the Alabama marquee. No, you didn't.

30:12 We just didn't shut down for a couple months. I'm afraid not, sir. He's like, that is literally my job. You did not say that, okay? I'm worried there for a second there. How could you see our marquee from sixty five? That sign is in rough shape, though. It really is. I think that adds to its charm. Yeah. Yeah, I think so. I mean, last time I drove by the sign looked rough and the grass was growing up really bad around it as well. And I was like, do you want a glitzy devil? Do you want a glitzy? Gary, are you asking me for real?

30:52 Because yes, I do. That sounds like one of them specialty drinks you're going to make. I mean, when I think of the devil, I think of Glenda from the new wicked movie. Okay. You know what I mean? Like, you know, yeah. Yeah. Well, you get a little Ariana Grande as the devil. Well, you got me thinking, like, when you're thinking of that, of a glitchy devil, I would think of him from, what was it, the, what was the cartoon? Powerpuff Girls. Powerpuff Girls, yes, him. I just, I, for some reason, went to, I went to Saturday Night Live, church that, do you want Satan glitzy? Satan glitzy.

31:34 Okay, Gary, there's your new... Are we going to get back on track here? Oh, no, no, no. Just to clarify for anyone listening, it's not a horror thing, okay? Please. Gary, that is your new shirt at your work camp in Alabama. Do you want a glitzy devil? Do you want a glitzy devil? Yes. And people who have been coming since seventy nine when they got started, they're like, what are you talking about? So I think a couple of you have been to a Christmas movie where I'm actually playing for the Christmas movie. I generally wear some kind of Pentecostal style jacket.

32:19 Yes. And so there's your glitzy devil. Oh, there you go. I mean, we've seen you perform at the best Christmas movie, which is Die Hard. Yeah. Now see, let's talk about this. Here we go. Is Phantom a horror movie? Is Die Hard a Christmas movie? I'm not going to open that can of worms. It is a Christmas movie. It is a Christmas movie. It is a Christmas movie. Die Hard is a Christmas movie. No, you'll never ever get me to say anything else. Phantom is a love story with a very scary figure. Yeah, so is it horrific?

33:03 Yes. But for the sake of this show, we need to make sure that we say that Phantom is not a horror movie, okay? Because I can't... I need that to be like... okay I I I think that's an okay thing to say because I say that I it is a story of love and betrayal and I know we're live how much can I get away with saying here we push the boundaries already brock's already been squirming over there a little bit so well you know people we got several people watching uh Why don't you guys that are watching live, sound off in the chat. Is Die Hard a Christmas movie?

33:44 Is Phantom of the Opera a horror movie? Yeah. Give us your take. But I always tell people privately, you know, the main character in here, Christine Day, she is a, and you just fill in the blank there with the word that you're thinking right now. Yeah. Yeah. yeah yeah yeah a scoundrel there we go she is the devil there you go she's not glitzy enough though yeah I don't know she's got some great costumes in this this movie oh that is true that is true you know I really hate I really hate that I I've got the uh neck of the toy company they put out They put out a black and white Lon Chaney Phantom of the Opera figure, and I totally failed and did not... I mean, I can go get it really quickly if you want to see it.

34:40 Do you know where it's at? Yep. Oh, okay. Go get it, Brock. Go get it, Brock. Go get it, Brock. We're totally going to break... We're going to break this while you're gone. Yeah. I think he muted Jess as well. Oh. Oh, Jess, you're muted. Yeah, when she stepped away, I took him out. So, Jess, this is your cue to cough. You can cough now, okay? Cough all you want. Into the mic. so yeah we want to make sure that we are very well aware that the phantom that this version of the phantom is not a horror movie and neither and no version of the phantom I've ever watched has been a horror movie it's always exactly the way you described it gary where it's just kind of a it's a love story you very much feel the love in it and it's also the big thing is is a story of betrayal it's it's a huge story like a betrayal all over the place oh he's back showing I'm back When you leave, Brock, it mutes me.

35:40 Oh, does it? I'm sorry. I forget. We're on the same feed in here. My bad. Is that what you kids are calling it these days? That's right. That's what we call it these days. All right, Brock, show us. Oh, he does have it. Yeah. Let's see. There he is. Oh my gosh. Oh wow. Sweet. Does it open? It does. Oh. Oh man. The man of a thousand faces. Isn't that beautiful? That's incredible. Fantastic job with these.

36:21 They've done the universal monsters and things like this. So yeah, we've been collecting. We've been collecting these. I've got to get me one of those. Yeah, you do. They're easy to find. Yeah. I'll go over to Kevin's and rob it from his front yard. There you go. I haven't gotten into any Phantom stuff yet, but I've only been doing this a few years, so give me time. I'll give you time. No, the only thing horrific about Phantom is his appearance, is the way he looks. And that shock, you know, when she goes to pull the mask away, you see the face.

37:04 You know, you see the face. That's the shock part of it. It is shocking. And see, here we're back to her character. He tells her, you know, you will be fine. Everything will be fine as long as you don't. pull my mask away. And what does she do? Pull the mask away. And she is horrified, as I think most of the audience will be too, because he went to great lengths to create this face. And so a couple of things, one is when they were filming, she had never seen his makeup.

37:45 So when she pulls the mask and sees it for the first time, that is an actual real reaction to seeing him. Now, what he did to create this is he was putting celluloid discs up inside here, inside his teeth and cheeks. He was using wires like chicken wire to pull here. He was making a concoction using egg whites to glaze his eyes over. I mean, that's a lot of work and a lot of commitment to create. Yeah, these days that's just Botox. Okay. Botox.

38:27 A little bit of Botox, a little CGI. He literally walked around with his own tackle box full of prosthetics and makeup. He had wire that pulled his nose up. You want to talk about practical effects, that's fine. Here we are right here. When you think of how much time practice, trial and error he did to come up with this horrific look. I don't think anybody could have done that to him. I think he had to do that to himself. Yeah. It's kind of like...

39:10 I was just going to say, it's kind of like Betty Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane. She did that makeup on herself because her primary makeup artist that she worked with forever said, I'm not doing this. They'll run me out of town. And she just slathered it on. And Chaney was in that same vein. Anything for the art, anything for the reaction, anything for... making this the best that he possibly could. Basically, it was kind of like method acting, but like a physical transformation. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and he was he was used to physical acting. He had grown up in vaudeville and had transitioned over to silent film.

39:51 So he he understood the physicality of everything being on screen. And it just it was a natural fit. It was just a magic moment in cinematic history. Yeah. And I think the success of him coming off of Hunchback was what, you know, that allowed them to like, okay, of course, here is your freedom. You know, you create your character. We trust you to, we're going to put this in your hand, we trust the outcome of it. Yeah. Well, and, you know, I said that earlier, he was a very known entity. And by that point, like you just said, he was well trusted by the studio. They expected him to do his best and he always did.

40:34 He didn't make money and he did that. So, you know, free reign, free license, do your own thing. Yeah. Yeah. He was, he was, he's fantastic. Yeah. For, for, for all that he, you know, the, what, the things he did. And of course the makeup is just, you know, it's just fantastic. Well, it is fantastic. It's also painful. So, you know, there was a great deal of physical pain for him to be in that getup. for those hours. Which I'm sure that fed into the whole pain and betrayal part of it. I'm sure that actually fed into him being able to do the character as well. Just the pain of the actual because he was able to pull on that pain to give you the character as well.

41:20 Yeah, and I always feel, the very first time I saw this, I thought, I'm going to hate him. He's an awful person. And I came away that very first time and I felt sorry for him because here's someone who is rejected by society. He's living in the bowels of the Paris Opera House. And he basically has... everything that he needs except one thing and that is love and companionship and he saw this as a way to obtain love and companionship and uh of course you know let's see black black magic dark magic trickery a little bit of murder we're all involved but you know glitzy devils glitzy devils glitzy devils what are you gonna do for love Yeah.

42:19 Well, I mean, that's good. I mean, that's, you know, you talk about here we are, it's, you know, almost a hundred years later from the movie was released and yeah. Oh yeah. We're real close. Yeah. We're close. Yeah. Think about what we're going to do next year. That like, yes. I mean, we're going to show jaws. Jaws three. We're totally going to miss it this year. It's fine. Jaws three D. That's a horror film. Yeah, there we go. Honestly, it would be tragic, but it would be hilarious if you guys just decided to show something totally different and people are like, it's literally the one year anniversary.

43:04 Really? It is? It will be. Now, let me tell you, what we should sneak in is the Andrew Lloyd Webber. Yes, that's when you do it. Yes. Or the nineteen ninety Robert England version. Oh, no. Or you could really, you know, shake things up and make it, you know, Phantom of the Paradise from the, you know, the seventies. So there you go. Yeah. No. You want to talk about a trip? That's a trippy one. That's a trip one. Yeah, that's trippy. I do look forward to seeing this because I know that it was an inspiration for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.

43:48 And then the version in the film version that came out, what was in like two thousand or whatever it was, you know, it was an inspiration. But just like the way you're talking about it, you know, he while it was while I'm picking up that it wasn't as good. I'm also picking up like where he obviously where he drew a lot of his inspiration, because like, you know, watching in the Andrew Lloyd Webber version, watching the Phantom, I came away feeling sorry for him. Every time I watch it, you feel sorry for him because it's like, yeah, man, I mean, the dude thought he had it all figured out. He was just going to sweep her off her feet, do a little bit of murder. This is all fine. Everything's fine. It's fine. You're going to be perfectly fine with this life, right? And then she's like, yeah, no, bro, this is not cool.

44:31 There weren't glitzy devils in it. Well, and she's not doing the, this is a cool thing. She's doing the, I want it all thing. She wanted to keep her lover. She wanted to star, to be the star of the opera. And she just didn't uphold her end of the bargain is what basically it boils down to. So, yeah. It's a shame. Yeah. I do look forward to seeing this version since it's, it is the original. So that's. Yeah. Yeah. And, and, you know, there's, there's been so many iterations of this. I think this is, this is certainly my favorite, the best. This was this, you know, this was a novel.

45:12 They lifted a lot of this from the novel and we get once or one or two a year that go, it's not in the novel, you know, and I'm like, Hollywood license. Yeah. Yeah, right. Hollywood does take that dramatic license. But see, this is what's funny. You're talking about in a time and age where people are tired of remakes and reboots and they get upset. At the end of the day, you've still got your original classic. As you see, if it's a great movie, it has staying power. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yep. Yeah, I agree. I prefer this. And I, I prefer this one over the Claude Rains version of the Phantom of the Opera. Yeah. But I just something about, I don't really like the Claude Rains version of Phantom.

45:53 He was a violinist too. It was just kind of weird. Yeah. Yeah. I, I just, I don't know the, the remakes after that, they, you know, they're, they're just trying to capitalize on the hype of it. And I don't think anyone really actually, uh, captures that essence. Now, I do admire the Andrew Lloyd Webber just because, I mean, you can't not. How much money did it make? Right. If you're looking just strictly at box office success. Yeah. But, you know, you do have this original inspiration and it is as timeless today as it was then, you know, almost a hundred years later.

46:34 Mm-hmm. I do want to point out that you can get tickets at www.alabamatheater.com slash events and it will pull that up. Just make sure you're going through our Alabama Theater website or going to Ticketmaster Direct. I had... One person say, oh, we bought our tickets. We're so excited. They were one hundred and sixty four dollars. And I'm like, what? I just bought two tickets and they were thirty three dollars. So that should.

47:14 Yeah, that should. Yeah. Yeah. It's well, that's that's that's if you bought two, that's it. Because it's it's six. It's sixteen all in. Yeah. And times two. And then there's a dollar service fee for the processing of the car. So, yeah, I mean, it's just and you can you can get them online. You can get them at the door. This is a general admission show. Mm hmm. Let me go ahead and tell you, there are a couple of places that the organ geeks will run to immediately. And those are their seats. So don't even don't even get in their way. They will hit you. They will bash you with an oxygen tank. And just let them have the first balcony row E and F. That's theirs.

47:59 Because that's where the organ speaks the best. And then you've got the ones that don't like to climb the stairs. They'll be in rows, you know, JKL on the main floor center. Also a great place to see the film. Yeah. Now everybody clamors in for those seats. I've seen so many things there. It's hard to find a bad seat. It really is. This is general admission. It would be lovely if we were going to sell out, but it's not going to sell out. You can get tickets in advance. You can get them at the door. We're just happy to have the love and the support that everyone comes in.

48:40 We have at at forty five years I I know there are at least half a dozen people that have been there every single year wow uh and they just you know they keep back back back and they're like me it's fresh every time you know the story that uh the score is fresh every time and As a fundraiser, I couldn't think of anything that we could possibly be doing better to showcase what the organ was originally built to do. It's just the perfect marriage and match. Yeah. The ambiance, the environment, everything just sitting there, you know, being able to sit there and watch that with everything going around. It's just, it's absolutely perfect.

49:21 Yeah. You just hit something, Jess, and that is the Alabama is a magical place. And with a little bit of altered lighting, you can go from charming, from castle-like, to very creepy very quickly. And that's why we're so excited. that we've got some new lighting features this year that are going to be spectacular. Yeah. It may be really impressive, too, because like you said, you were going to make sure that the lighting director was very happy when you had the performance. Your charity, take this.

50:03 It may or may not be Tito's vodka. We don't know. Could be. Could be another eyeball. Yay. Well, since you're not playing the organ during the film, what are you doing while the movie's going on? Okay, so that's a great question. Thanks. So I will come out and do the intro. And that is, first of all, I truly will make sure everyone understands this is not a Broadway musical. And then I will ask everyone to please take their seats and for the entrance of the pallbearers to please stay seated.

50:45 If you're in the upper balcony, just give it a moment. Once they clear that edge of the balcony, you'll be able to see what's going on. And then everything else takes place on stage. Uh, so what happens is, is, uh, I'll, I'll go out, do that little spiel, step off stage. And I am at the bar. Nice. Working or otherwise. No, otherwise. He says, yes. Where do you think the glitzy devil comes from? I got to get started, baby. No, so I'll, um, Everybody's done this so many times. We have a wonderful crew, a wonderful set of volunteers, and they all know their part.

51:30 They all know their position. Helms is magic, so I don't worry about him. Once that first thing gets on the screen, actually, I actually really run to the booth because there's a queue at the very beginning. And the stagehands, they're waiting for that cue. And then once I've done that cue, then I'm off to Tito's land. Concessions, concessions. Concessions, concessions. And then I really actually will go up there and grab a cocktail and go in and sit and watch the whole show. darn thing good there you go I'm glad you get a chance you get a chance to sit back and watch it it is the the one show a year that I do not schedule myself on the floor it is the one show a year that I absolutely go in and sit and watch it's kind of awesome it's phenomenal It takes you back to the reason why you fell in love with that voice, right?

52:25 It is the whole reason. And I promise you, don't sit near me. Don't. Well, that tells me even more. Because he doesn't tell any of us how long he's been at the bar at that point. I still will laugh. at during this film I I still literally will cry at one point during this film it is very moving and very touching and and I I just it's very emotional for me because it it represents so many things in my life the origin of the film the organ itself the theater itself why we're doing it um you know and I'm Right before I go on, I'm on the phone with the ticket booth.

53:12 What's our ticket count? What's our ticket count? Of course, we have a break-even point for producing the show. As soon as we hit that, I am three fingers into the gin. Gary, do you have your own private booth like the Phantom? No. In the film, it's box five. Box five. And the new owners of the theater go and they go, who occupies box five? And the attendant, you can see it in French and I unfortunately can't do it.

53:56 She just goes, I do not know. She knows. Okay. so she's like no no no don't go in there don't that guy will kill you don't go in there that is one thing I'm trying to think now um what the murder count is in this film uh because it's not low but it's not you know a massacre it's just it's you know onesie here and there yeah just sprinkled around yeah it's not texas chainsaw massacre but it's kind of close and it's it's it's never a scene murder it's an implied murder yeah yeah that's that's that's why I kind of steer away from trying to classify this as horror because there's not a lot of you know where there is no blood and guts and gore and no no visible murder just a lot of sad people well when it's when it's told correctly and it's told well you know you don't have to have that right yeah it can be implied and you're like oh no that person's dead oh no you know they did um they have or I'm sorry we're youtube they've been unalived I'm sorry I guess they have been unalived kevin that was you know that was hitchcock's greatest uh card that he would play is so much of his uh meaning was implied you never saw this or you never saw that you you knew yeah

55:26 and in this film it's the same things very very clever very clever uh Maybe a little bubble in the water. Yes. Yes. Man, I'm looking forward to it. Honestly, I saw that Brock and Jess were going to it, and I was like, I'm going to wait, Tom. I want to hear Gary talk about it a little bit before I decide. And then, you know, you're talking about it, and I'm like sitting here texting with my person, and I'm like, number one, it's not a horror movie. I know it says it on the website, and Gary's going to get that fixed. But... So I do always make this offer. I tell people, come, stay for the whole thing.

56:08 And at the end, if you absolutely positively hated it, I'll give you your money back, which we never do. But I'll take it out of my pocket. And I make that offer because I guarantee you, if you watch this thing from beginning to end, you're going to fall in love with it and I'll see you next year. So for the hundredth. Yeah. So, yeah. Yep. Mitchell Brinkley. Hey, Mitchell. Says the best horror suspense movies are the ones where they let your mind fill in the bad parts. Yes. Exactly. Exactly. Your brain is the best screen that you have, and it fills in those bad parts. You know what just happened to that guy.

56:49 He's unalived. Yeah. Right. Yeah, more often than not, when you get a movie where they just spoon feed you, like a lot of modern movies, they'll just spoon feed you everything and tell you every single thing. When you just trust the intelligence of the people watching it, and you can actually write the story to the point where there is no way anybody could mistake this. Exactly. That's just good writing, and it's also trusting the audience, too. Yeah. Trust the people. And I'll see you. Hey, hey, Mitchell. Hey. Yep. Hey, y'all. And by the way. Hey.

57:30 It's all good. I brought up here, you mind if I share, Brock? He was talking about their website. That's what I say. Their beautiful website here for you. He was talking about the alabama.com theater slash events. And this is the particular one itself. Like I said, he's got it here. He got you where you can buy your tickets, plan your visit. He's got a wonderful designed, I guess, a poster marquee type thing. There you go. See what else is correct on there. Oh, yeah. No, no, no. Scroll down. Scroll down just a little bit more. Right there. Film synopsis. The Phantom of the Opera. Unrated. Horror. Right there. Boom. Well, obviously someone copied that off of IMDb.

58:15 Of course, we need the information if you've ever been to the area before. It's at two o'clock in the afternoon. Yes, it is. Doors will open at one. Go ahead and get there early. find your seat that you want, then, you know, meander around the theater. There'll be some ghouls hiding out, hoping to scare unassuming patrons. Concessions will be open when the doors open at one. And this really, I mean, I wouldn't bring a three-year-old to this, but this is really something the whole family... I've seen people bring infants to Deadpool, okay?

59:02 We had little bitty toddlers at Die Hard, and from the console, I was like, okay, I need to make a public service announcement to those of you with young children, and if you're okay with this, I'm okay with this. Yippee-ki-yay. Yippee-ki-yay. This is Bruce Willis' break into action. This is not Bruce Willis the soap star or whatever he was before that. This is Bruce Willis dropping the F-bombs. A lot. Oh, man. I can't wait for that again this year.

59:42 We're doing it this year, right? Yes, we are. We don't want to get too far ahead. But now just remember, in May, Lowe's and Kevin are putting out Halloween decorations. So I feel like it was a compliment. So in September, I can talk a little bit about the holiday film series, which we will be announcing shortly. Our biggest issue right now is used in the pre-COVID world, the studios and the licensing agents would allow you to call in February and say, hey, we want to show White Christmas on December third.

1:00:28 And they'd be like, oh, sure, fine, book it. Now, in today's world, we can't. book officially a movie until the quarter that it's being shown. So we won't get confirmation for our Christmas lineup until seriously, literally October first. So very, very end of September, very, very first of October is when we'll announce the holiday film series. I can assure you Die Hard is on the docket. If they deny Die Hard, we riot.

1:01:09 Especially with the crowd they had last year. Oh my gosh. We will get there early. Okay. Let's just talk about that for half a second. Okay. Let's do it. Yes. This is turning into the Die Hard episode. This is the Die Hard episode. Number one, the late, great Cecil Whitmire would be just like, if they denied it, he would just be like, well, we're going to show it. What are they going to do? Come down to Birmingham and... haul us to prison. And I think, you know, maybe today they would, uh, but, uh, he was definitely of the, let's ask forgiveness rather than permission mindset. Um, our current, our current management plays by the book.

1:01:49 So we would, we would have an issue. Uh, the very first year we showed Die Hard, um, I think, you know, you're showing a movie up against things like Christmas Vacation and Elf where you're selling out a full house every show. And the very first year, Die Hard was at maybe a little over half a house sold. Mm-hmm. And our then business manager was like, see, I told you this is not going to fly. Negative fancy. So the bar tab that night.

1:02:31 Right. It's always the concessions. It's always concessions. The bar tab was like three sold out Christmas vacations. And when I turned in the numbers the next day, I mean, she just, it's just like, I'm going to go change clothes now. Do you remember driving Miss Daisy when Hoke shows back up with a can of salmon? That's what she did. Wow. I love it. So that's why Die Hard has, since that first time, has been on our Christmas docket every year. Because A, it's... It's better than Rudolph.

1:03:12 Come on. And it's certainly a different shifting gears from all the white Christmas. It's the quintessential nineties, like macho, but still quirky holiday movie. And then, you know, of course we had Alan Rickman and Alan Rickman's past. Right. And now, you know, Bruce Willis, you know, we love him, but he's not doing well. So you're, you're, we don't know how long that'll be. So we'll have that as well. So, I mean, the movie is just going to keep getting more and more popular. You see where you're at, where you're at today versus where you started at.

1:03:52 Look at what's changed. Like I said, this last year, it was, we were like, Oh, we can get there. We'll be fine. Whoa. That was a massive lie. So we had, um, This past year, we had seventeen tickets left to sell out. And I almost went to the box office and bought the seventeen tickets so we could say we sold out. But, you know, I only make a dollar eighty three an hour and all the popcorn I can steal. So I just let that go. They don't even give you a free tab at the bar. What bar? No, so I think that is a true testament to the best Christmas movie ever.

1:04:35 Die Hard is the cool uncle Christmas movie. It's the cool uncle Christmas movie. That's a really good way of describing it. Yes. And it's not a horror film. Well, well, and I used to watch Die Hard, like I would make a habit of it just watching it at the house. But now I don't do that. I come to the theater and see it because it's a much better that that movie is fifteen times better. If you see it with other people that movies are made for a crowd. Cause it's like when you go to a sporting event and you're like, you're there and you just feel the energy of everybody there and everybody's root. It's almost like you get that exact same thing from a movie that's been out for this long, you know, the energy of the audience, the synergy that you've created with everyone else in the room.

1:05:25 It, it, I mean, it, I love White Christmas. I do. That is my favorite film in the whole wide world. But it is not the same. I can watch White Christmas alone in July and be just perfectly happy. But seeing Die Hard with that two thousand people is just because everybody's just they're in the same boat. They're in the same place pushing it through. It's awesome. They are shouting out the lines. They are cheering when Hans falls. It's an experience too. It's much like what you're going in here with Phantom. Oh, yeah.

1:06:05 Phantom is the same way. I can watch that at home and I'll be okay. But seeing it there with that audience and hearing an audience laugh with you and gasp with you and do this like... Yeah. All at the same time. It's just, you know. And of course, of course, the wallets are belting it out, too. I mean, that's just, you know. Yeah. Yes. Yes. Yes. And I always cleverly point out, too. And I said this earlier, and that is, you know, it's exactly what the organ was designed to do. But you have never heard the entire range of.

1:06:45 of that organ from its very most quiet to its very most bombastic yeah as you will hear during this show it is it is the full circle it is he utilizes every single thing the organ the organ is its own character it's its own star yeah yeah it really is yeah it really is yeah well now you got me even more I can't get any more excited than this gary okay yeah you love that yeah Kevin, you talk about your love for the for the war. It's going to magnify. Well, the fact that, you know, we were in our we were just before this, we recorded our member exclusive episode. And, you know, Gary was talking about some of the restoration that was happening with Big Bertha.

1:07:25 And, you know, it's going to be back. you know, hopefully you have the bugs worked out and everything, and it'll be back in full blast for this. And it hasn't been for a little while because it's been in repair. So that's going to be even better. It's like, you know, not only is it the full range of it, but it's with everything fully repaired, fully, fully restored. So the Bertha project is a three-phase project, and the return at the end of September will be the completion of phase two. Phase one was a complete reworking of the keyboards. There are four sets of keyboards, and all of those were completely reworked. reworked uh and she oh my goodness before she left she was it was playing was a dream it's just it's like eating a chocolate sundae you just ever wanted to stop and then phase two is is a very mechanical uh portion the uh the the rail that holds all the stop tabs that go up and down and control all the different things all of that is being reworked and uh the stop-action magnets are being replaced because after all these decades, they wear out.

1:08:37 It's time. It's time to do that. And then there's some other console things and the platform itself and the railing, ornamental railing got redone. So it's mostly mechanical. And then phase three, we will do probably in twenty-five or twenty-six, approaching the one hundredth anniversary of the theater. And that is the physical cosmetic portion of her she looks great from ten feet she photographs well but once you get close you can see she's a little so that that'll be phase three and that'll be done prior to the one hundred anniversary celebration in twenty twenty seven.

1:09:24 So this is once again, this is a multiphase project that we've planned out over several years and we've raised the money to do this. We're not borrowing any money and we it's it's been entirely self-funded through donations and earmarked money. We do Phantom for forty five years. Where does all that money go? Exactly what we're talking about right now. One of those things I like to brag about the World Series, I tell you what, after you've experienced it the first time and you hear it, but one of my favorite things is when you're getting ready to play it, you haven't even played that single note, but you hear that rumble. Oh, yes. It's like that, oh, here it comes, here it comes, and then it belts you.

1:10:06 And that's one of the things I wanted to break up while I was thinking about it. It's just that's one of those things. I don't know. Even before it plays its first note that I know it's coming, that's one of my favorite things about it. Like everything switches on. Yeah. It's like everything's ready and you can hear it. Exactly. And even if you don't know, you're like, oh, God, something's about to happen. And then you hear the first notes and you're like, oh, my God, that's the organ. Oh, wow. Yeah. Well, and the organ, you know, it's a living, breathing organ. It's a living, breathing character. You think you're coming to a theater and you're like, this is really cool. It's ornate. And then you realize this is just the shell that houses the organ.

1:10:48 That's basically what this place is. You say that, and that is exactly what saved the Alabama theater is in the late eighties and, you know, eighties, six, The theater, the owners of the theater at the time had filed for bankruptcy. The Oregon Society went to the bankruptcy attorney and said, look, you know, This doesn't look good. If bankruptcy proceeds, then this theater will be torn down because no who in their right mind would want a nineteen twenty seven movie palace and try to operate. And so we asked them, could could we purchase the organ and remove it so we could put it in a different venue, a suitable venue?

1:11:33 And the bankruptcy attorney said, no, you want the organ. You've got to buy the building and its contents and the the organ without the room. and the room without the organ yeah yeah no so they really are you know together they're really one being and the it's just a natural fit and so it's like you said kevin you know you come in and you see it's gorgeous but then it's a whole organic experience with the wind and the air that it takes to power the instrument and it's crazy yeah you really only have to go and see it like one show and then you're then you know if you're lucky enough to see a show like if you don't go there for like a concert or something and you see a show that that is actually playing you're like okay yeah it's very very obvious especially when you you're looking around the theater and you're like well there's a box over there that looks like it should be like a box like a an area where someone just said no that's literally where the theater has its parts the organ has its parts So my best one is always, you know, we always get that one person that goes, oh, when we were here, blah, blah, blah.

1:12:43 We sat right up there. And I'm like, you did? Really? Oh, interesting. Just sharing. I wish I could point. Okay, so you see the console, and if you look to the left and go up where that shield and the Griffiths are, those are the chambers. Behind that, you see a kind of a graded plaster. Behind the shield is the main chamber, and behind the curtain, behind the Griffith, is the string chamber. And those rooms are, they're huge rooms, but they are filled floor to ceiling with pipes, regulators, wind regulators, the chest work, the actual instruments.

1:13:23 I wish I could point even more because I could show you the one hundred nineteen twenty seven warlets are upright right there. Right. And just right behind the drapery there. Yeah. Is this where the organ, the seats we don't get because the organ enthusiasts, they'll sit there? Is this balcony here? No, no, no, no, no. We need a different shot. Jess is trying to plan her visit already. I'm going to be in the floor in the middle. You come by one day next week and I'll show you where to sit. At the bar with me. At the bar. Right here. No, so on the opposite side is the same visual symmetrical look on the outside.

1:14:16 The other side is called the solo chamber. And instead of two chambers like you have here, it's one big chamber that's one big room. Yeah. Can you see that? Yeah. Trying to see if I can. Yeah. Say, oh, no, it won't go any. Can you just scroll? No, no. I don't know if you're. That's OK. It's OK. If you're there and you find me, I'll point for you and show you. Gotcha. The that's. It was in those those chambers. There are no parallel walls within the room. There's several different sides to the rooms, you know, multi-sided, no parallel walls.

1:15:02 So that way the sound waves inside can't get trapped inside the room. The chambers are designed to push the sound of the pipes and the instruments out into the auditorium. And then the swell shutters, the shades are designed to open up and fire into the room. So The organ was designed and built for it to be able to speak into that auditory very cleanly and clearly. She does a fantastic job, that's for sure. Absolutely. That's why taking the organ out of the theater would mean nothing. No. You can take it out and we could put it somewhere else, but it will never sound the same.

1:15:43 The room is always the biggest component of any organ, hyper-electronic either way. that's the single most important element is the room and the acoustics of the room. And boy, does she sing. She does sing. She does indeed. Absolutely. Well, we know we got Phantom on October, the two o'clock in the afternoon. What are some other things happening in October that we can expect? Well, other than Hocus Pocus on the twenty fifth. Yeah, that's a. Look here and see. Who knows? I mean, I'm in that mode right now where tomorrow is Monday.

1:16:25 I just got to get through Monday. That's the only one showing on the website. Yeah. Well, T-Bone Burnett's coming to the Lyric. Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are coming to the Lyric. There is the Witch Perfect Tour for twenty twenty four, which is drag oriented. That's going to be fun on the eighteenth. Hocus Pocus on the twenty fifth. Phantom on the twenty seventh. And then there's an ABBA tribute band. What? On Halloween night. Yeah.

1:17:05 That's also with the lyric. Oh, ABBA tribute band. This group, this is like their, I know it's at least third time, if not fourth time that they've come. And they do such an amazing show. It's unbelievable. So if you want to come to the Lyric for the first time, there's your show right there. Oh, wow. And then November first is Nate Jackson. November six is Morrissey. Yeah. Gotcha. So what you said that they were doing that Halloween night? At the Lyric? Yeah, the ABBA tribute is Halloween night. Okay, you know what? You can either go see ABBA or you can come to my house and get full-size candy bars.

1:17:46 You know, I might do both. I don't have a bar, though. Well, it's okay. I'll bring my own. Candy bar. Yes, there we go. Candy bar, yeah, candy bar. Affordable bar. As Brock would say, I've got the beatus. That's all I've got. I've got it, yeah. But I love Halloween, of course. You know, I get to wear my sexy kitty outfit. Yeah. In public. I was expecting a glitzy devil, but okay. No glitzy devil. I saved that for Christmas.

1:18:30 Man the images. All right. And this is why we love Gary. That's right. We turned him loose with a live mic this time. And it was beautiful. And it was gorgeous. And a brick wall. And a brick wall. We were joking in our member exclusive stream that Gary, when we want him to come onto the stream, he just materializes out of that brick wall. And then he just puts some earbuds in and he just starts talking. There you go. That's all you need. This is my life every day.

1:19:11 Awesome. Gary, I hope we can have you back on. We'd love to have you back on and talk about the holiday film series. We'd love that if you're free. Yeah. I'm free I'm free maybe not free Well, what do you want me to say? I'm available. You guys, I am always so thrilled and excited and honored to be a part of your podcast and your live stream. I just, I can't tell you how much it means to me to be able to come and talk to you and talk to folks who really get it.

1:19:52 Uh, and, and we can have these discussions of is this, this, and is this that, and, uh, I just, I appreciate you guys more than anything. Hey, we love you, man. It's a, and Mitchell says, Gary's cool people. Thank you for coming on. I'll send you a check Mitchell. And I can say Mitchell is just as, is a cool, cool people too. Awesome. Yes. I have to get them over here for one of these films for sure. I think Mitchell's been to the Alabama. I think he came for the Ghostbusters. Yeah. Now you just need to come for Die Hard now.

1:20:33 That's the best thing. That's the one, yes. That would be. There's another one I can guarantee you. If you don't have a good time, there's no helping you. I don't think it's possible. I know. We will put a link to the Alabama Theater and where you can get the tickets for Phantom of the Opera and their website. We can get all kinds of information of everything that's coming up. Mitchell even says, oh, I'm thinking about Die Hard. You will not regret it. Mitchell, come watch Die Hard with us. You will not regret it at all. And judging by last year, buy your ticket as soon as they go on sale.

1:21:14 Yes. Yes. Oh, my gosh. And get there early that night. Yeah. And be aware that there are multiple concession areas in the theater, and they have some of the best drinks when you're there. It is so nice. Thank you. So for Die Hard, we will open every level of bar. It will be main, mezzanine, balcony, and the loft all the way up, every bar. Yep. It takes it. It does. Very nice. Thank you. Because he knows that's where the money is. Now it's attendance and you get all those two thousand people there times what they drink and you're good to go.

1:21:59 It's what keeps the lights on. There you go. It's just true. Well, awesome. Like I said, we'll put a link to the Alabama Theater in the description and in the audio feed when this comes out on Wednesday. And we'll also, you know, help plug what's going on. All you got to do is follow us on social media everywhere at Bama Geeks. That's where you can find us. And if you want to join us in our private Facebook group, The Bama Geeks front porch. Just search for that on Facebook. We're easy to find. And if you'd like to toss, you know, five bucks a month to us to get some bonus audio, patreon.com slash Bama Geeks.

1:22:41 You can also click the join button on the YouTube channel. And, you know, we'll try to entertain you as much as we can. And we certainly appreciate our Patreon members. We're still going to do a live stream at some point with our Patreon members where Jess will lovingly make bracelets to say Bama Geeks. You can pick your own colors and stuff while she makes them. We'll plan on that at some point. I knew you were going to say that. My wrists are bare. I will get you some bracelets. I have become the bracelet making queen. Over here on the table, there's like four stacks of bead kits. Oh my goodness.

1:23:24 I'm going to get you some bracelets. Absolutely. So, uh, but Gary, thank you so much again for, for joining us and being here and we'll have you back on. And we hope, uh, you watching, uh, have enjoyed it. And we appreciate all the, uh, the conversations in the chat. Yes. And we will, we may or may not be here again in two weeks. We have to discuss this because that's a really busy weekend that, um, a lot of us are going to be. preoccupied. That's a busy weekend. We'll come up with something. We'll talk about it. Again, thanks so much, Gary.

1:24:04 Thank you so much to everybody for watching. We appreciate you. We love all of you. For Beau and Kevin and Jess and Gary, I'm Brock. We're the Bama Geeks. We'll see you next time. Bye.