Join us for a rare Q&A will Paul Williams, moderated by Jesse Kowalski, Chief Curator, who will speak with Paul Williams alongside clips of his roles in movies, television series, and concerts from the 1960s to today. Film clips include his performances in Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), Phantom of the Paradise (1974), Smokey and the Bandit (1977), The Muppet Movie (1979), and Baby Driver (2017). Williams will also be asked about his guest-starring roles on The Odd Couple (1974), The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteriesand The Brady Bunch Variety Hour (1977), Fantasy Island (1981), Community (2014), and a special appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. In addition, we will show rare clips of the Carpenters, Elvis Presley, the cast of Ishtar (1987), and others singing his memorable songs. The audience is encouraged to take part in the Q&A.

The Phantom of the Opera has inspired dozens of imitations, riffs, and reimaginings over the decades, but the best is, without question (sorry, Phantom of the Megaplex stans), Brian De Palma’s horror-comedy rock musical about a gifted songwriter forced by a deranged record executive to haunt a concert hall. William Finley is magnificent in the title role, Paul Williams is deliciously evil as Swan, and, of course, don’t forget Gerrit Graham as everyone’s favorite trend-chasing rock star, Beef. Made for the age of glam rock and concept albums, it’s as fun to watch now as it was back then, and you’ll have the songs in your head for days.

DRAG ME TO THE MOVIES is an interactive movie-going experience featuring drag artists, movie bingo and prizes. It is hosted by Weird Alice.

THE MUSIC MADE HIM DO IT! Join Weird Alice and special guest Continental Breakfast for the second as they rock and haunt the stage with the second annual special presentation of 1974's PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE! You asked- we are bringing it back because there is no better place to celebrate Brian De Palma's epic horror-fantasy-musical-ultimate masterpiece of cult cinema than Live at the Paradise Theatre!

In this rock opera hybrid of Phantom of the Opera and Faust, fledgling singer-songwriter Winslow Leach finds himself double-crossed by the nefarious music producer Swan, who steals both his music and the girl Leach wants to sing it, Phoenix, for the grand opening of his rock palace, The Paradise. After Swan sends Leach to prison for trespassing, Leach endures a freak accident which leaves him disfigured and plans his revenge on both Swan and the Paradise, thus becoming the PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE.

Friday November 24th, 7 PM/6:30 PM Doors

Early Bird $17.50 | General Admission $20 | Door Entry $25

Chicago-based Japanese American multi-instrumentalist Sen Morimoto is releasing his third studio album, Diagnosis, on November 3 via City Slang, in partnership with his own Sooper Records. Now he has shared another song from it, “Deeper.” Listen below, followed by his upcoming tour dates.

Morimoto had this to say about the song in a press release: “There is a place in the center of my chest, tucked behind my heart, where only the most extreme depths of grief or joy make themselves known. When the context of everything in your life is squeezed into a single moment by the pressure of an overwhelming present it feels like you’re at the bottom of the ocean. Nothing’s deeper.”

On Sunday, October 22, fans will be able to hear the album early at a drive-in movie theater in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood. All the album’s music videos will also be shown, as well as the cult 1974 horror rock opera Phantom of the Paradise, which was directed by Brian De Palma and is an influence on the new album.

Morimoto explains: “Phantom of the Paradise was a film my collaborators New Trash [production company in Chicago] recommended when I came to them with the concept for the ‘Diagnosis’ video. I couldn’t believe I’d never seen this amazing rock opera that poked fun at capitalism and corruption in the music industry in a way that felt so related to what Diagnosis is about. It lives in the same goofy fantasy horror world that I wanted our visuals to come from too so I was immediately obsessed.”

RSVP to the drive-in event here.

An article posted by Vulture's Jen Chaney on October 3rd notes that the kaleidoscopic collage is an art installation by Marco Brambilla, titled King Size:

Many of the people in the heavily Gen-X crowd responded to all the techy pageantry the way everyone responds to concerts in 2023: by whipping out their phones to film it. “I don’t record music at concerts,” Haygood told me. “I recorded two minutes and 33 seconds of that.” He’s referring to the Achtung Baby rollicker “Even Better Than the Real Thing,” a song accompanied by the art installation King Size, a kaleidoscopic collage of images of Vegas and clips of Elvis Presley created by artist Marco Brambilla that scrolls from the back of Sphere to its front. The movement of the video creates the optical illusion that the stage and the standing general-admission crowd around it are rising upward, a sensation unlike anything I have ever experienced. (In one video posted on YouTube, you can hear a guy in the crowd shouting incredulously, “Oh my God, we’re moving!”)

But this isn’t just eye-candy gimmickry. The King Size segment, a callback of sorts to the rolling camerawork in the music video for “Even Better Than the Real Thing,” also functions, like so much of what U2 was doing during their Achtung Baby period — where Bono routinely used a remote control onstage to channel-surf through the muck of 1990s broadcast television — as a commentary on oversaturation. “It’s exactly what some of my work is about, which is this idea of the seduction of the spectacle,” Brambilla told me prior to Sphere’s opening. “Is it going to destroy us? Is it going to make us better or worse?”

There are movies that are not only hallmarks of our popular culture, but resonate with their audience with such ferocity, that they inspire and influence a generation, for life. Phantom of the Paradise is one of those special movies, and it continues to captivate new generations. All the planets aligned in 1974 with a break-out directorial feat for a young Brian DePalma and his screenplay, a score and songs by the legendary Paul Williams, makeup by FX pioneer John Chambers, and a sexy leather bondage ensemble by Rosanna Norton, worn with finesse by the unforgettable character actor William Finley. All this magic wrapped up in camp and, most notably, Rock & Roll! Small wonder a legion of future filmmakers was mesmerized by this miraculous, modern, monster movie.

And as is the case with many off-beat, trend-setting efforts, who could predict the ever-growing cult fandom that would follow this film right up to this day. As much attention and acclaim as the film has earned, it's shocking how little material exists from production. Collectors have been known to pay tens of thousands of dollars just for a replica helmet! There's barely a trace of prop or fabric...until now! This is the screen worn, complete "Winslow / Phantom" costume worn by William Finley in the film, stored away by the actor for nearly half a century, and discovered in perfect condition by Mr. Finley's family after his passing.

Twentieth Century-Fox, 1974. The custom costume includes: 1-leather strap and metal buckle tunic, 1-long sleeved turtleneck under tunic, 1-matching pair of leather buckle pants, 1-pair of leather gloves, 1-pair of leather boots, 1-crushed velvet red and black character cape, 1-black and silver character cape, 1-two-piece cast fiberglass shell visor helmet with one smoked eye lens painted in gunmetal silver, and 1-set of chromed dentures that would slip over the actor's own teeth. The costume even includes the sport socks Finley wore in character. The rarity of this holy grail costume can't be over-emphasized, and provenance is unquestionable.

Other movie-related William Finley treasures available as well. The cornerstone of our Music & Monsters auction can be the cornerstone of your collection!

I somehow had no idea that that was Stephen Bishop, before he became well-known, as one of the people auditioning for Swan...! Earlier today, Bishop shared the post below on his Facebook page: