Westport Cinema Initiative: "The High School That Rocked!"

WESTPORT, CT - From the desk of the Westport Cinema Initiative: On Saturday, July 15 at 4pm, the Westport Cinema Initiative will host a screening and talkback of the award winning documentary, “The High School That Rocked!” the story of how six legendary bands in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame came to perform at Westport’s Staples High School from 1966-68, leaving indelible memories for local students. The screening will take place at Westport’s Town Hall at 110 Myrtle Avenue. Tickets are $10.

The 27 minute documentary created, produced and directed by Staples graduates will be followed by a discussion of the film moderated by Dan Woog, himself a Staples graduate. The panel will include Casey Denton, the film’s director (Staples ’14), Fred Cantor, Producer (Staples ‘71) and Dick Sandhaus (Staples ’67), who was class president and the organizer or co-organizer of the concerts at Staples from 1966 through 1968. Among the bands that performed were The Doors, Cream, Sly & the Family Stone, the Rascals, the Animals, and the Yardbirds, who performed live shows on campus. Producer Fred Cantor shared the genesis of the concerts, "Dick Sandhaus ran for junior-class president. His big campaign promise was that he was going to have the best junior prom ever and would make it free. Then he won and he said, 'How am I going to pull this off?’ He got the idea, Why not put on a rock concert?"

Among the citations the film has received are First Runner Up for Best Short Documentary at the Albuquerque Film & Music Experience and the Jury Award for Best Regional Documentary at the SENE Film, Music & Arts Festival in Rhode Island.

The film is being shown in partnership with the #WestportRocksSummerFestival which includes the Westport Historical Society exhibit related to the concerts, on display from June 16-September 2. Ticket holders are invited to a post screening reception with the filmmakers at the Westport Historical Society hosted by Vine Wine Bar.

Other events include a July 15 evening concert at the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts with a reunion band featuring Charlie Karp, Brian Keane and Michael Mugrage — all Staples High School students from the late 1960s and early ’70s who went on to have successful music careers. The Westport Library will have a panel discussion on the music scene in the 1960s on August 14, and the Westport Community Theater is planning a staged reading of “Album,” on a date to be announced. All the events are being organized around the hashtag #WestportRocksSummerFestival to coincide with the 50th reunion of the Staples High School Class of 1967.

For tickets or more information, visit: http://www.westportcinema.org

Image via Pixabay