'A Stage of Twilight' gets its theatrical premiere at the Allen Theatre this week

"A Stage of Twilight," starring Karen Allen ("Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark," "The Sandlot") and William Sadler ("The Shawshank Redemption," "The Mist") will have its theatrical premiere at Annville's very own Allen Theatre on Wednesday, Nov. 15, and screen until Sunday, Nov. 19.

The film will follow a married couple, Cora and Barry, in the last act of their lives, with Barry receiving a terminal diagnosis and coming to a decision that he has to go off and leave his family, wishing to not be seen as a dying man but remembered as the man he was when he was alive, a decision that Cora isn't happy with.

A trailer for the film can be found on YouTube.

Writer and Director Sarah T. Schwab, who also co-wrote, directed and produced "Life After You," another film by independent production company Cardinal Flix, which was was also premiered at the Allen Theatre and was partly filmed in Lebanon County, described the film as a love story and said that it is partly based life experiences with her own father.

"It's very, very loosely based on my dad's passing when he got sick when I was 15 years old, so there's definitely a personal thing there," she said.

They've spent the last year showing the movie at different film festivals across the country, with Schwab saying that the movie has been emotionally evoking for viewers young and old, as everyone deals with the uncomfortable topic of death at some point in their life.

"The one thing that I keep taking away is that people shy away from having these discussions," she said, "and there needs to be more of these rather uncomfortable conversations so that people just get last words out, get last things they want to say, make sure that how they want to die is respected."

"And so a lot of the conversations in this movie were based on literal conversations I had with my own father at a young age. And I'm so glad that I got to hear those."

Alongside "A Stage of Twilight," films "Life After You," and test screenings of psychological thriller "Crybaby Bridge," which Schwab also co-wrote, directed and produced, will be shown as a part of the premier.

"It's going to be the first time that really anybody, except a few people on the team, have seen it. It's going to be really helpful to get reactions from people who come as we wrap up the film.

"Crybaby Bridge" is based upon the urban legends throughout the United States of haunted bridges where the sound of a crying baby can be heard. The film itself follows a 16-year-old woman who faces bullying in school after she becomes pregnant, whose family ultimately decide to move her out into the countryside where a secret of her past is revealed that threatens the fresh start they're looking for.

Originally, Karen Allen's directorial debut film "A Tree. A Rock. A cloud" was supposed to run as a part of the screening, but due to the actors strike coming to an end and Allen having to shoot in London this month, those screenings will have to be rescheduled.

Those screenings have been replaced with additional screenings of "A Stage of Twilight."

Schwab and producer Brian Long will be in attendance at the viewings for post-screening talk-backs.

"When we ran for a week, 'Life After You,' two years ago, we had such a great experience there and the community was wonderful and the space was great," Schwab said, "For our upcoming movies, we had such a great experience shooting 'Life After You' in Lebanon, that we would absolutely consider coming back to the area to shoot one of our upcoming films."

Ed Felty, who owns the Allen Theatre with his wife, Sue Felty, said that their relationship began when Cardinal Flix initially reached out to them about premiering "Life After You," and they were happy to continue that relationship for another premier.

Ed Felty also confirmed that they were looking to sell the Allen Theatre and had a possible buyer lined up, but nothing as of yet was set in stone.

He said that if everything goes to plan, the business would likely be changing hands sometime in January to a buyer who was interested in continuing to hold live events at the location.

As to why, he said that after retiring from a career in education, he and his wife are ready to officially retire and likely move down South.

Screenings

Wednesday, Nov. 15

3:30 p.m. A Stage of Twilight

6:30 p.m. A Stage of Twilight

Thursday, Nov. 16

3:30 p.m. A Stage of Twilight

6:30 p.m. Life After You

Friday, Nov. 17

4:30 p.m. A Stage of Twilight

7:30 p.m. Crybaby Bridge

Saturday, Nov. 18

1 p.m. A Stage of Twilight

3:30 p.m. A Stage of Twilight

6:30 p.m. Crybaby Bridge

Sunday, Nov. 19

1 p.m. A Stage of Twilight

4 p.m. A Stage of Twilight

Tickets prices are $10 for adults 13-59, $8 for children 3-12, seniors 60 and older or those with military ID.

Daniel Larlham Jr. is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at DLarlham@LDNews.com or on X @djlarlham.

This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Film starring Karen Allen, William Sadler get premiere in Lebanon, Pa.