The Yule Blog

By Meredith Slifkin, BMFI Intern

Whether you believe that ‘tis the season to be merry, or you see the spread of yuletide joy and just want to shout “bah humbug!”, there is something at BMFI to help get you in the holiday spirit! Yes, all members of the family (even the Scrooges) will want to spend a cozy day at the theatre and enjoy one of the great events in BMFI’s Holiday Happenings series. The screenings include everything from classic holiday films like It’s a Wonderful Life to a simulcast of the Bolshoi Ballet’s production of The Nutcracker. For a complete list of shows, dates, and times, check out the Holiday Happenings page, or keep reading for a few highlights.

For the music lover there’s The Nutcracker from the Bolshoi Theatre. Does anything embody the holiday season more than this classic ballet? And broadcast from the historic Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow at that—I can just picture a blanket of snow coating the Kremlin in a perfect scene of winter splendor. The only word for it is transplendent (Annie Hall fans?).


Snowflakes will leap across BMFI's screen at the live simulcast of the Bolshoi Ballet's production of The Nutcracker. 

You too can be “the richest man in town” if you get in the holiday spirit by coming to the screening of It’s a Wonderful Life, the classic starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed. Whether you watch it every year or you’re taking the kids to see it for the first time, you’ll love to see George lasso the moon and hear that bell ring atop the Christmas tree. Don’t miss this special matinee screening on Saturday, December 18.


Jimmy Stewart realizes that he has "a wonderful life" in the Frank Capra holiday classic, featured on December 18.

What could be better than going to see the beloved Rogers and Hammerstein musical, The Sound of Music? Going to BMFI’s The Sound of Music Sing-along, back for a third year in a row! Rejoice and be merry in song and in costume at this special event. There’s always free popcorn for those who come in costume, and this year there will even be a cash bar where you can partake in some “holiday spirits”.

More than one kind of “spirits” will abound at the screening of Drexel Professor Ian Abrams’s version of A Christmas Carol! Abrams has edited together many different versions of the film to create one seamless retelling of the classic tale that features Scrooges as varied as Mr. Magoo, Alastair Sims, and Bill Murray. Philadelphia Inquirer film critic Steven Rea will introduce and discuss this delightful take on a holiday classic.


Michael Caine, shown with the muppets in A Muppet Christmas Carol, is one of the many Scrooges featured in Ian Abrams's compilation.

Here’s a complete list of BMFI's Holiday Happenings:

• The Nativity Story • Saturday, December 11, 11:00am
• Spano Conducts Sibelius • Monday, December 13, 12:30pm
• A Christmas Carol: A Unique Take on a Holiday Classic • Wednesday, December 15, 7:30pm
• It's a Wonderful Life • Saturday, December 18, 11:00am
• Live Simulcast: The Nutcracker • Sunday, December 19, 11:00am
• Black Swan reception • Monday, December 20, 7:00pm
• The Sound of Music Sing-along • Wednesday, December 22, 7:00pm

Wishing a very happy and healthy holiday season to you all!