Interactive Silent Film and Live Music Event "Sherlock Junior" to be Presented Feb. 28 in CFA

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo Center for the Arts will present "Sherlock Junior," Buster Keaton's classic silent film accompanied with an original film score performed live by The Blue Grass Knoll. The performance will be held at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28 in the Mainstage Theatre in the Center for the Arts on the UB North (Amherst) Campus.

The performance, part of the Tops Family Adventure Series, is sponsored by Tops Friendly Markets, WGRZ-TV and WJYE-FM.

Made in 1924, "Sherlock Junior" is Keaton's third feature film. Keaton plays a cinema projectionist framed for theft by a jealous rival for his girl's hand. It is a sublime study of film and fantasy, fast-moving and surreal with him becoming an imaginary detective in his dreams. The film's incredible comic sequences -- a veritable cascade of unbelievably complex gags -- put Keaton decades ahead of his time. This rare film gem is being re-discovered as one of his funniest and most assured films.

Australia's The Blue Grassy Knoll band has developed a truly unique project of writing scores to accompany the classic silent films of Buster Keaton. Performed on banjo, accordion, double bass, fiddle, mandolin and guitar, their scores give these films a whole new rush of energy with bursts of music and sounds from a head-spinning range of traditions, showcasing the band's versatility and humor.

In recreating the silent movie experience, the band sits facing the screen and uses the film itself for their cues, so it literally becomes their "conductor" -- a truly amazing experience to witness. There are as many laughs for their ingenious, perfectly timed musical gags as for the antics on screen. The band also invites the audience to provide sound effects.

The Blue Grassy Knoll's score to "Sherlock Junior" contains as much detail and texture as the film itself. Beginning with attention-grabbing stabs that melt into a classic detective motif, it is one almost-continuous piece of music that organically morphs with the action on screen. Possibly the most complex and sophisticated piece the group has written, it at times matches the on-screen so well that the audience often forget that the band is there at all.

Within the music, there is an appropriately self-conscious and awkward love theme, a sneaky stalking theme, arguments between cello and double bass, tear-jerking banished music and Benny Hill-style escape music.

The evening will also include a screening of Keaton's short film, "Cops," also accompanied by The Blue Grassy Knoll.

Tickets for "Sherlock Junior" are $12 for adults and $10 for children ages 12 and younger and seniors. Patrons who present a TOPS Bonus Card at the Center for the Arts Box Office will save $2 off all tickets purchased. Tickets are available from noon to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Center Box Office and at all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's. To charge tickets, call 852-5000; in Canada, call 416-870-8000. For group sales, call 645-6771. For more information, call 645-ARTS or visit the Web site at http://www.arts.buffalo.edu. The Center for the Arts is a Ticketfast location.