A special date night
Movie to benefit Culver Youth Club
Very seldom do we have an opportunity to combine several things we care about into a package for others to enjoy, too.
But for Paul Levett and Judy Eck, that is what will happen on Friday, Oct. 6, when they sponsor “Somewhere in Time” as the Date Night movie at The REES Theatre at 7:30 p.m. They are using the movie as a fundraiser for the Culver Youth Club. All proceeds from ticket sales and a special wine-and-dessert reception before the show will benefit the organization.
The movie is one of their favorites. It is about a playwright (Christopher Reeve) who travels back in time to find the love of his life (Jane Seymour) at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. Christopher Plummer also stars.
Levett said his daughter calls him a softie and underwriting this presentation of the movie fits the description.
He grew up in Plymouth and going to movies at The REES was one of his main forms of entertainment.
His mom, Jane, worked at the Grand Hotel when she was younger, and the family traveled to Mackinac Island while he was growing up.
The movie’s musical score has served as the soundtrack for his and Eck’s relationship and marriage since they met 16 years ago.
And, since retiring to Culver four years ago, Levett has served as a volunteer coach and art instructor at the CYC. He was asked to serve on the board by Dana Neer.
“I love working with the kids,” he said. “(Director) Brian Carver has really revived it.”
Levett, who is called “Mr. Paul” by the kids, has combined two of his other passions, physical fitness and art, to work with them.
“Paul Levett is a wonderful asset at CYC,” Carver said in an email. “For the past two summers he has come and led triathlon training for our members, to help and get them ready for the Lake Max triathlon at the end of the summer.
“Paul always has fun activities planned and works out with the kids. He also came and helped the kids build a Frankenstein to be put outside CYC.”
Levett is just one of several volunteers donating their time and talents to the club and the kids. “It’s a fun group,” he said.
He has also been following the restoration of The REES since coming back to the area. After hearing about the Friday Date Night series, he knew he had the perfect movie for an evening.
“Somewhere in Time” is a combination of romance and fantasy as a young playwright Richard Collier (Reeve) meets an elderly woman who presses a pocket watch into his hand and whispers “Come back to me.” Years later, he goes to the Grand Hotel and discovers the old woman was actress Elise McKenna (Seymour), who stayed at the hotel in 1912. He finds a way to travel back in time find McKenna but her manager (Plummer) works to ruin their relationship.
“It wasn’t really popular when it first came out (in 1980),” Levett explained. But over the years, it has developed a cult following. There is an annual weekend conducted on Mackinac Island to celebrate the movie with everyone dressing in costumes from the period.
He has watched the movie several times on DVD, Levett explained, but has never seen it on the big screen. Watching it on The REES’ high definition large screen is one thing he is definitely looking forward to.
The movie also holds a special place in heart because of the connection to his mother. He’s very familiar with the no motorized vehicles rule on the island. The only time cars and trucks have been allowed were when they were filming the movie.
The soundtrack includes Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Op. 43, Variation XVIII Andante Cantabile by Sergei Rachmaninoff. Levett added it was playing at Eck’s house the first time he visited early in their relationship.
The movie is based on the book, “Bid Time Return,” by Richard Matheson, which was released in 1975. After the movie was released, the book was retitled “Somewhere in Time” and released again. Matheson was not known as a romance writer, but for his science fiction. He wrote several episodes of the “Twilight Zone” and the novel “The Shrinking Man,” which he adapted for the large screen as “The Incredible Shrinking Man.
Along with the regular $5 admission, the balcony will be open for a special wine and dessert reception, which is $50. La D’Zert Café will be supplying the food. With Levett and Eck covering all the costs of the evening, all the proceeds will benefit the Culver Youth Club. Tickets are available online (reestheatre.com) or Fernbaugh’s Diamonds & Fine Jewelry in downtown Plymouth.