Starting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, August 31, Downtown Grand Rapids, Inc.'s
Movies on Monroe will be back at their pop up Grand River-side venue for a night of free entertainment.
The night starts off with a full program of pre-movie fun, including host Gabriella de la Vega of El Mundo Musical, DJ Ace Marasigan, dance artist Bird Clarkson, and many more, who will take to the stage to welcome and kick off the night with a festive feel.
At 7:30 p.m. the winner of 10 Academy Awards winner West Side Story will begin and I just dare you not to toe tap, sing along, or try to not cry at this dramatic musical.
“
West Side Story,” the film is based on the 1957 Broadway musical of the same name, is inspired by the star crossed lovers of Shakespeare's tragic play “Romeo and Juliet.”
As two rival gangs fight for control of their neighborhood streets, a seed of love is planted in the hearts of the film’s leads Tony and Maria who will try their best to navigate their attraction during a time of racial tensions.
The second feature of the night is the 2018 Academy Award winning feature film “
The Shape of Water.”
The story is centered on the timid but curious Elisa, a mute woman who works as a cleaning lady in a secret, high-security government laboratory during the cold war in 1962’s Baltimore.
But her quiet and predictable life changes course when she uncovers the lab's sinister, hidden secret: a mysterious, scaled creature from South America that lives in the lab’s water tank.
“The Shape of Water” is also one of the best examples of a film that uses ambiguity (a popular device employed in many modern films who seek to avoid storybook wrapped-up-with-a-bow endings).
Both of these poignant films reveal the power of love and compassion … and why it is still needed in this world.
Friday’s movies will be played in English with Spanish subtitles for the Spanish-speaking community.
(This double feature was to screen in July but was rescheduled for August 31 due to rain on the original date.)