FilmNights starting at Grace Theatre

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PRINCETON — The Illinois Theatre Conservatory has announced a new pilot program — a free series of cinema screenings that will highlight the great films, actors and genres of the 20th century.

The program, FilmNights, will be much more than a simple movie screening; it will be an entertaining and educational film event hosted by one of Festival 56’s finest comedians, Alex Pawlowski, filled with movie trivia, jokes and anecdotes about the film.

Pawlowski, who was a member of both the 2008 and 2009 company of artists, recently played Stanley in this summer’s Run For Your Wife and Falstaff in Henry IV. Over the past two years, Alex, or “A.P.”, as he is known, has developed a reputation at the festival’s late night cabarets for his original, and frequently brilliant, comic monologues. An avid movie buff with a DVD collection numbering in the thousands and a mind filled with movie minutiae, AP is the perfect host for a fun and insightful examination of great movies.

FilmNights will open with a short, two-night preview event at 7 p.m. Oct. 23 and 24. Each night will offer a double feature and a slightly-tongue-in-cheek retrospective titled “Patrick Swayze: The Last True Renaissance Man.”

Friday’s offerings will examine his position as a romantic heartthrob with screenings of “Dirty Dancing” and “Ghost.” Saturday will turn the tables for a rough and tumble look at Patrick Swayze, the action star, with “Roadhouse” and “Point Break.” Admission is free and concessions will be available.

In the spring, FilmNights will present a full nine-week season of films, ranging from Cary Grant and Alfred Hitchcock films to grand epics like “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Gone With the Wind.” FilmNights organizers eventually plan to present an eclectic mix of well-known classic and interesting art and foreign language film.

No reservations are necessary. Patrons may come after 6 p.m. both nights. For more information, call (815) 879-5656, ext. 13.

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