Stanford Theatre bringing back a beloved holiday tradition this year
It’s time once again to find Zuzu’s petals, say “Merry Christmas!” to the Emporium and scratch our heads over how scatterbrained Uncle Billy kept a job for so long. For the first time since December 2019, Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” is returning to the Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto for Christmas Eve.
The two Dec. 24 screenings — at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. — will cap a month of holiday favorites (and Deanna Durbin movies) with a lineup that includes “Show Boat” (Nov. 25-26); “It Started With Eve” (Dec. 2-3); “White Christmas” (Dec. 9-10); “The Bishop’s Wife” (Dec. 14-15); “Meet Me in St. Louis” paired with “Miracle on 34th Street” (Dec. 16-17); and a double-feature of “The Shop Around the Corner” and “The Wizard of Oz” (Dec. 21-23).
And all that leads up to the return of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” the 1946 holiday classic starring Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey. It had been an annual event at the Stanford since it reopened in 1989, consistently playing to a sold-out house. But the COVID-19 pandemic put a stop to that tradition in 2020 and 2021, and work on the theater’s HVAC system was the culprit last year.
You can check out the complete schedule at www.stanfordtheatre.org.
STILL FENCING AT 40: The Fencing Center in San Jose remains one of the city’s hidden gems, even though its been teaching students how to thrust and parry for four decades now. Growing out of a San Jose State program in 1983, the Fencing Center’s early stars included Peter Schifrin and Greg Massialas — who both competed on the 1984 Olympic team.
The group’s first headquarters was at 10 Notre Dame Avenue in San Jose, one of the many early offices of the Mercury News, and later moved to Stockton Avenue and into an old furniture store on South First Street. Nowadays, they’re in a 14,800 square foot facility on Blossom Hill Road where five coaches — including longtime head coach Michael Botenhagen and foil coach Connie Young Yu — work to train the potential Olympic fencers of tomorrow.
Scott Knies, who retired last year as executive director of the San Jose Downtown Association, says that it was the Fencing Center that first got him involved in downtown as he served as the nonprofit organization’s first executive director. Naturally, he fences as well, learning skills that may have helped him be quick on his feet with the Downtown Association. Knies will serve as emcee for the Fencing Center’s 40th anniversary benefit gala starting at 5 p.m. Nov. 18. You can get more details at www.fencing.com.
PULLING STRINGS: Prospect High School’s string quartet will join the pro musicians performing in the touring show “Beatles vs. Stones — A Musical Showdown,” when it comes to the Campbell Heritage Theatre on Friday night. The young performers — sophomores Saarthak Shankavaram, Michelle Xie, Juna Lee and Bruno Piccoli — will join the bands for six songs: the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby,” “A Day in the Life,” “Hello Goodbye” and “Hey Jude” and “Gimme Shelter” and “Ruby Tuesday” from the Rolling Stones.
While it’s cute to think, “Aww, they’re playing music made before they were born,” chances are the adult musicians they’re playing with are doing the same thing — and what do you think Symphony San Jose orchestra members do every time they perform Bach or Mozart? Tickets to the 7:30 p.m. show are available at www.campbellca.gov/heritagetheatre.