Anything But Silent: Lady Windermere's Fan (1925) With Live Accompaniment July 29, 2008

Based on the Oscar Wilde play about the hypocrisy of Victorian morals, particularly the institution of marriage, 'Lady Windermere's Fan' begins as adventuress Mrs. Erlynne returns from foreign travels to blackmail her daughter's husband into introducing her into polite society so she can snag a lord she's determined to marry. The plan backfires when her daughter, who does not know of her existence, mistakes the scheming older woman for a rival. For over two decades Ben Model has served as resident silent film accompanist for The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Ben composes and improvises all his own scores and performs in a style that both evokes the silent era and reflects a contemporary (and younger) audience's appreciation of music and film scoring.