20 Years Ago

Gamm opened its doors at its new venue in the Pawtucket Armory with “A Child’s Christmas in Wales” starring Chris Byrnes, Rae Mancini and Casey Seymour Kim and directed by Tony Estrella.

Disney’s “The Haunted Mansion” got the same bad reviews as the 2023 version. Billie Bob “Thornton’s “Bad Santa” got even worse reviews.

“The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King “was the big holiday movie.

Once again, Trinity’s “A Christmas Carol” received rave reviews. Dan Welch played Scrooge.

P.J. Prokop, PPAC’s Marketing Director, was honored for her 20 years of service at a party at Davol Square’s Hi-Hat Club.

Riverdance was at PPAC.

The Community Players announced auditions for “Funny Girl”.

Charlie Hall’s Ocean State Follies was at the West Valley Inn in West Warwick.

Bright Night replaced First Night on New Year’s Eve thanks to the efforts of Cranston natives Adam Gertsacov and Narvin Novogrodski. There was a strong presence of Cranston and Warwick artists and entertainers.

40 Years Ago

The big movie was “Yentl” starring Barbra Streisand. Stephen King’s “Christine” didn’t translate that well to the big screen. Brian DePalma’s “Scarface” was “three hours of violence”. Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry character was back in “Sudden Impact”.

“Silkwood” starring Meryl Streep was excellent. “CATS” was headed to Boston. The R.I. Philharmonic gave their annual Christmas Pops with the Community Chorus of Westerly at PPAC

“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” was at the Newport Dinner Theatre.