Crowds Flock to 'Love and Honor' Premiere at Penn Theatre

Film with Plymouth ties draws sold-out crowd at Penn Theatre.

A sold-out crowd packed the Penn Theatre on Friday for the premiere of Love and Honor, a Vietnam-era romance written by Plymouth Township-based scribe Jim Burnstein and inspired by Plymouth Mayor Pro Tem Mike Wright's experience going AWOL. Lines of moviegoers wrapped around the corner of Penniman Avenue and Main Street on Friday for the sold-out screening, which benefited the nonprofit historic theater. The film—which was Michigan-written, directed and filmed—made its video on demand premiere on Feb. 14. Friday marked the film's theatrical release in select cities around the world.  For those unable to secure a ticket to the Plymouth premiere, Love and Honor will have its opening weekend at Emagine Novi beginning March 29. Were you at the…

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'It's a Wonderful Life' Actress Recalls Classic Film Role in Visit to Plymouth

Virginia Patton of Ann Arbor, who portrayed Ruth Dakin Bailey in 'It's a Wonderful Life,' appeared Sunday at the Penn Theatre in Plymouth.

OUTSIDE DETROIT-- Giving up a promising career in Hollywood to start a family might be a difficult choice for a talented young actress, but for Virginia Patton, the decision paved the way for a wonderful life away from the limelight. Patton, now 86, portrayed Ruth Dakin Bailey in the 1946 Frank Capra classic It’s a Wonderful Life, starring alongside such screen legends as James Stewart and Donna Reed at just 20 years old, but left acting soon afterwards to move to Ann Arbor to pursue a family with husband Cruse W. Moss, a successful automotive executive. Patton, of Ann Arbor, and Moss appeared together Sunday at the historic Penn Theatre in downtown Plymouth for a screening of It’s a Wonderful Life, where the former actress signed …

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Gnwalker

8:01 pm on Saturday, December 29, 2012

You must be a very unhappy person. None of us know what the future holds in life for us, but in most cases we tend to show promise. One Love!!!!!!   more ›

'It's a Wonderful Life' Actress to Appear at Dec. 2 Screening at Penn Theatre

Virginia Patton to make guest appearance at Penn Theatre prior to 4:15 p.m. screening of Frank Capra's classic film.

Before downtown Plymouth's Penn Theatre screens the 1946 holiday classic It's a Wonderful Life on Sunday, one of the film's stars will make a special guest appearance. Actress Virginia Patton, who lives in Michigan, will appear at the theater at 3:45 p.m. on Dec. 2, prior to the 4:15 p.m. screening of It's a Wonderful Life. Frank Capra cast Patton, then a young actress, in the role of Ruth Dakin Bailey, wife of George Bailey's brother, Harry Bailey. Patton, 86, has resided in Michigan since the late 1940s, when she moved to Ann Arbor with her husband, Cruse W. Moss, and quit acting. 

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Paul Schulz

9:07 pm on Tuesday, November 27, 2012

The Penn should have Red Carpet out for her appearance. That's really cool! We are fortunate to still have her around today.   more ›

PennTasteTic Crawl Fills Downtown Plymouth Restaurants

The seventh annual event supports the Penn Theatre and the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce.

It was a cold Tuesday evening for the seventh annual PennTasteTic Downtown Restaurant Crawl in Plymouth, where people walked around to check out food samples from the 14 participating restaurants.  The Sardine Room was packed with visitors from the Crawl who were there to sample the lobster arrancini and spicy meatballs with shaved Parmesan.  Maria Janus and Deena Bushaw, of Westland, and Connie Swistara, of Allen Park, sat in a crowded and warm corner of the restaurant. The three women were helping themselves to the hot trays of food in front of them. Janus said she thought it was one of the best places they visited during the Crawl. "I'm not sure," she said about which place would get her vote. "We're not done yet." Proceeds from ticket …

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PennTasteTic Crawl in Downtown Plymouth to Benefit Penn Theatre

The seventh annual PennTasteTic Downtown Restaurant Crawl supports the Penn Theatre and the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce.

Downtown Plymouth will be crawling with people 5-8 p.m. Tuesday for the annual PennTasteTic Downtown Restaurant Crawl. Participants can walk around Downtown to check out the food samples from the restaurants.  This is the seventh annual PennTasteTic Crawl and there are almost 15 restaurants participating including Cupcake Station, Nico & Vali, Panera, Ironwood Grill, Yogurt Palooza and Kilwin's.  Benefits from ticket sales will go to the Friends of the Penn and the Plymouth Community Chamber of Commerce. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for children 10 years old and under.  Teri Fry of the Chamber of Commerce and event manager of the PennTasteTic Crawl, said Tuesday afternoon that there are two tickets left for the Crawl. "We have six …

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Downtown Plymouth's Penn Theatre Goes Digital

Vintage nonprofit theater adopts new industry standard digital projection.

Next time you see action stars performing acrobatic leaps across the screen at the Penn Theatre, you'll be able to enjoy it in its full digital glory. The Friends of the Penn, the group behind the nonprofit, historic Penn Theatre, announced Tuesday that the single-screen movie house now features state-of-the-art digital projection with all weekend movies being presented using this new format.  The new digital installation, Executive Direcetor Ellen Elliott said, abides by new industry standards that state that by the end of this year, the major studios only will release new films with digital as its native format.  The need to upgrade means an added $70,000-85,000 cost per screen, the Friends of the Penn said in a news release. “This …

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Summer Movie Classics in Full Swing at Penn

Weekly family-friendly classic movies run through Aug. 30.

Classic Baseball Movies on Deck at Penn in April

'Pride of the Yankees,' 'Field of Dreams,' 'Bull Durham' and 'For Love of the Game' planned at historic movie theater.

Spring is almost here — the weather already is here — and soon Tigers fans will hope to see Prince Fielder and Miguel Cabrera cause nightmares for opposing pitchers.  At the Penn Theatre, a historic, nonprofit movie house in downtown Plymouth, America's Pasttime will hit the silver screen each Thursday in April, where the theater will screen Pride of the Yankees, starring Gary Cooper, and Field of Dreams, Bull Durham and For Love of the Game, each starring Kevin Costner. All seats are $3. The Penn Theatre's classic baseball movie schedule is as follows: The Penn Theatre will follow April's baseball movies with classic Doris Day and James Stewart movies in May. For a full lineup, check the Penn Theatre website. Be sure to vote in the poll …

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John McKay

3:23 pm on Tuesday, March 20, 2012

My personal favorites: Field of Dreams, The Sandlot, Major League 1/2. Somehow I haven't seen all of Bull Durham, just huge chunks of it on cable TV.   more ›

Look Local for Last-Minute Gift Ideas

From snow sports to pet pampering, Plymouth offers plenty of creative solutions for procrastinators.

For shoppers scrambling for last-minute gift ideas, Plymouth merchants offer a wide array of solutions. Doug Fopma of Isabella's Copper Pot has several suggestions for those shopping for home and kitchen items. A slow juicer made by Huron, he says, is a popular choice this holiday. The device extracts juice from fruits and vegetables using a process that creates a higher-quality final product, he said. Another choice is the SodaStream soda maker. This accessory uses its included carbon dioxide tank and users' own tap water supply to create carbonated water. A sample pack of flavored syrups is included to create flavored sodas, or users can try to be creative and mix a variety of fruit juices to the carbonated water for their own creations…

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Penn Theatre Sells Out on Reopening Night

Movie patrons fill newly installed seats at Plymouth's Penn Theatre during 'E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial' showing.

The Penn Theatre reopened Thursday after being closed three weeks for a renovation project that included new carpeting, epoxy floors, curtains, seats, screen, portable stage and surround-sound speakers. The original lighting also was restored.  Playing in the theater on opening day was E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial which showed at 1 and 7 p.m. The 7 p.m. showing sold out of the 402 tickets that were available. This was the first time that this had happened in the time since the original reopening in 2006, according to Ellen Elliott, executive director of the nonprofit Friends of the Penn, which runs the theater. There usually is a demand for all of the seats in the theater, but not everyone will buy a ticket if they don't think that they …

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