Saturday, October 5, 2024

Long Beach Art Scene: With upcoming remake, Art Theatre to screen original ‘Nosferatu’ with live score

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Nosferatu, the 1922 German classic horror film directed by F.W. Murnau, has remained in the pop culture sphere for over a century. With the anticipated release of its remake by horror meister Robert Eggers come Christmas—with a star-studded cast no less—The Art Theatre Long Beach is showing the original in all its glory on Halloween.

But even better? They’re bringing composer Jack Curtis Dubowsky and his Jack Curtis Dubowsky Ensemble for a live score while the film shows.

Nosferatu long beach art theatre live score

Nosferatu is no stranger to Jack Curtis Dubowsky’s work

Jack and his ensemble have been playing with Nosferatu for years now, debuting Jack’s first score for the film back in 2018. Since then, they have been perpetually tweaking the score—adding this there, taking that from here—in order to create an experience of the classic German horror film in a way that few have.

“We first performed Nosferatu in 2018—and it was and remains our most popular show,” Jack said. “As with all art, we continue to refine our show; it keeps getting better and better. And there’s no better time than Halloween to come see it.”

That score has been highlighted as a definitive deviation from the romanticism of James Bernard’s 1997 orchestration “but a mixture of light romantic lyricism (each character has a memorable musically recurring theme), mixed with sparse 20th-century experimental music and musical sound effects.”

Jack Curtis Dubowsky [left] and his ensemble [right]. Courtesy of Jack Curtis Dubowsky.

What is the ensemble for this edition of Nosferatu?

While Jack Curtis Dubowsky acts as composer, his ensemble for this exclusive showing of Nosferatu includes:

  • Mason Moy – Conductor
  • Emily Barrett – Guitars, banjo 
  • R. Scott Dibble – Keyboards
  • Jeff Schwartz – Double Bass
  • Charles Sharp – Reeds 
  • Sean Stackpoole – Flutes
  • Paul Yorke – Percussion
tiny film fest
The Art Theatre on Retro Row has long been a cinephile’s paradise. Photo by Brian Addison.

The anticipation for Robert Eggers updated version run high—and it will be showing at The Art Theatre Long Beach

In March 1922, Berlin’s aristocrats and artists attended the premiere of FW Murnau’s Nosferatu: A Symphony Of Horror, and saw the nightmarish Count Orlok springing bolt upright from his coffin. Amid a disastrous encounter with Bram Stoker’s estate, alleging copyright infringement. The German courts agreed with the Stoker estate, ordering all copies of Nosferatu to be burned. One made it to the States and, with Stoker’s Dracula in the public realm, was able to survive.

It has since inspired artists across generations—including horror master Robert Eggers, the man behind the haunting contemporary art classics The Lighthouse and The VVItch. Come Christmas this year, he’ll release his version of the German expressionist classic with Bill Skarsgard and Willem Dafoe at the helm.

And yes, it will be at The Art Theatre come Christmas Day.

“It’s is on our schedule—we cannot wait but until then, Jack doing his live score to the original is the perfect precursor,” said Kerstin Kansteiner of the Art Theatre.

Nosferatu with Jack Curtis Dubowsky’s ensemble performing his live score will take place on Thursday Oct. 31, at 7PM at The Art Theatre Long Beach, located at 2025 E. 4th St. For tickets, click here.

Brian Addison
Brian Addison
Brian Addison has been a writer, editor, and photographer for more than a decade, covering everything from food and culture to transportation and housing. In 2015, he was named Journalist of the Year by the Los Angeles Press Club and has since garnered 25 nominations and three additional wins. In 2019, he was awarded the Food/Culture Critic of the Year across any platform at the National Arts & Entertainment Journalism Awards.

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