5 Things

Happy New Year! It’s time to kick old man 2013 to the curb and start hanging out with new baby 2014.

January 2, 2014; 7:31 AM • by Kelly Gerow

Happy New Year! Kick old man 2013 to the curb and hang out with new baby 2014. Celebrate by doing cutting-edge things like watching a PBS drama set in the 1920s, a silent movie, and then other older movies, and finish off your week with a musical about a pop group from the sixties. The future is now!

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Downton Abbey season four preview

Watch the season four premiere of the PBS hit Downton Abbey days before it makes its American debut. The season three premiere played to a packed theater last year, so be sure to get in line early. Period dress is encouraged. This event kicks off the 50th anniversary of the Community Ideas Station. If you haven’t caught up on DABS (which I hope no one actually calls it), it’s a pretty predictable show, so you can just look at the promo photos for the new season and get the gist of it.

• Thursday, January 2nd • 7:00 PM and 9:30 PM (doors open 30 minutes before showtime)
• Byrd Theatre, 2908 W. Cary Street
• Free!

Science Team: Super Secret Richmond Screener

Science Team, a new science fiction movie filmed in Richmond with local filmmakers, features aliens, murder, and questionable government agencies. The movie is described as a “destructive orgy of violence.” I can’t top that! We love having movies shot here, so if Science Team fever can match Lincoln fever, then expect a Segway tour of movie landmarks and a photo of the lead actor eating steak.

• Saturday, January 4th • 2:00 PM
• Byrd Theatre, 2908 W. Cary Street
• $5

Silent Musical Revival: Sherlock Jr.

During a Silent Musical Revival showing, a band provides the soundtrack to a silent film, but the band hasn’t seen the film before, so the score will be improvised. This Sunday’s film is Sherlock Jr, a 1924 Buster Keaton comedy, accompanied by The Green Boys.

• Sunday, January 5th • 8:00 PM
• Gallery 5, 200 W. Marshall Street
• Free

Jersey Boys

I have never liked Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, the ‘60s group that brought us “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” Then I saw the commercial for Jersey Boys, the Broadway musical that tells the story of Frankie and crew’s rise to fame (and fall? I don’t know–there’s probably stage punching at least) at the Landmark Theater, and now all I can think about is how great they were. But a musical could be made of anything I don’t like and I’ll still be into it, which is why I had front row seats to the “Graduate School Rejection Letters Addressed to Kelly Gerow: The Musical!” That one had a lot of stage fights, too.

• Tuesday, January 7th through Sunday, January 19th
• Landmark Theater, 6 N. Laurel Street
• $43 to $78

60 Films/60 Days

This film series from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has been going on since after the Hollywood Costume exhibit opened and features movies that have costumes in the exhibit (and seeing the green dress from Atonement is sort of like seeing a celebrity in real life). Take advantage of the chance to see some great movies on the big screen. This week’s films include Valley of the Dolls (January 3rd), Atonement (January 5th), Marie Antoinette (January 6th), and Broadway Melody (January 9th).

• Now through January 31st
• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 200 N. Boulevard
• $5

January 2, 2014 7:31 AM 2