Let's return to the State Fair, if only for one evening, as we celebrate the 48th birthday of the Taste section with a screening of 20th Century Fox's "State Fair."
Our ninth annual Taste Night at the Heights — which always sells out quickly — will be held Nov. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at the Heights Theater, 3951 Central Av. NE., Columbia Heights.
Follow the Frake family as they leave the farm, throw themselves into the hoopla of the Iowa State Fair (if only they'd headed one state north!) and sing songs by Rodgers and Hammerstein.
The duo, fresh off their initial Broadway collaborations with "Oklahoma!" and "Carousel," pump life into a Norman Rockwell-dipped plotline: Will Abel Frake's prize pig win the fair's blue ribbon? Will Melissa Frake's boozy mincemeat take top honors in the cooking competition? Will Margy Frake find love on the roller coaster? Will Wayne Frake win the ring toss and get the girl?
"Nice, I believe, would be the word for it," was the assessment of the film critic for the New Yorker after the movie's debut on Aug. 29, 1945.
The film's score includes the melancholy and melodic "It Might as Well Be Spring," which won the Academy Award for Best Song, the partnership's only Oscar.
Unfortunately, the evening will not feature Ferris wheel rides — or Pronto Pups — but there will be a preshow serenade on the theater's Mighty Wurlitzer organ from maestro Ed Copeland.
Tickets are $10 (buy them in advance at heightstheater.com) and include entry into the cookbook raffle. Join us!
Rick Nelson • 612-673-4757
@RickNelsonStrib
