Long Beach Opera Screens THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED, 5/27

Related: Long Beach Opera, The Music Never Stopped

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The true story of a man in the present whose mind is trapped in the past, The Music Never Stopped is a father-son journey toward understanding immersed in a world of Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Beatles and Rolling Stones, the Vietnam War, acid trips and psychedelic music. An Official 2011 Selection of the Sundance Film Festival, the film screens at 11 am on May 27, 2012 at the Art Theatre of Long Beach.

Directed by Jim Kohlberg with a screenplay by Gwyn Lurie and Gary Marks, based on neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks’ case study of "The Last Hippie," The Music Never Stopped is packed with 1960s hits, including three previously unreleased Grateful Dead tracks. The score is a vibrant tribute to the unforgettable music which defined the decade. From rock and rollers, dead heads, hippies, and psychology buffs to those who missed the era entirely, everyone is sure to enjoy this nostalgic journey to the past.

The movie precedes Long Beach Opera’s June 16, 17 and 24 presentation of Michael Nyman’s The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, an opera based on another Dr. Sacks’case study involving the relationship of music and the brain.

STORY: For Gabriel Sawyer (Lou Taylor Pucci), the past, present and future have become indistinguishable and he lives fixed in the 1960s. Through the music that embodied the generation gap, the film weaves the heartwarming progress of his relationship with his father, Henry (J.K. Simmons, The Closer, Law & Order) and the guidance of his music therapist, Dr. Dianne Daly (Julia Ormond). Cara Seymour appears in the role of Gabriel’s mother, Helen. The film ponders the question, "Unaware that the era of his music has long passed, Gabriel can express himself and have conversations only when listening to 1960s artists and bands, especially to his. What is it about music that delivers a fully formed emotional memory years, even decades, later--as though you were hearing it for the very first time?“ Unaware that the era of his music has long passed, Gabriel can express himself and have conversations only when listening to 1960s artists and bands, especially to his favorite group, The Grateful Dead. Although his father loathes rock and roll, he is determined to forge new memories and salvage his relationship with his son. In failing health, Henry begins his own pilgrimage through the music of the period. By familiarizing himself with the songs that animate his son's soul, he starts to form an unusual but emotionally vibrant bond with the child he thought he had lost.

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