What's On at Brentford's Musical Museum

Musical Museum's Spring Programme

Tea Dances
Saturdays Jan 11th, Feb 1st, March 7th, April 4th, May 2nd, June 6th at 2.30pm

A social afternoon of Ballroom Latin & Sequence dancing to the DJs selection of popular dance tunes. All levels of ability are welcome and a partner is not necessary.  Free dance lesson at 2.00pm Tickets: £8.50 includes a glass of prosecco or tea/coffee.

SILENT FILMS & WURLITZER
Sunday 12th January - 3.00pm
Donald MacKenzie presents a programme of silent films ​
Once again, we celebrate the brilliance that came from the Hal Roach Films Studios with four films from their biggest stars. From Soup to Nuts (1928) a Laurel & Hardy film; Pass the Gravy (1928); Crazy Like a Fox (1926) starring Charley Chase and Just Neighbours (1919) with Harold Lloyd & Snub Pollard star as two hapless neighbours who try to build a shed but end up ruining laundry, a garden and a chicken coop! Returning to the Musical Museum to present the programme is the uniquely talented Donald MacKenzie (of London’s Odeon Luxe Leicester Square) who will be playing inspired and improvised accompaniments to the films on our fabulous Wurlitzer cinema organ. Tickets: £15.00

For Me and My Gal (1942)
Sunday 19th January - 3.00pm ​
Originally billed by MGM as "the greatest musical show ever to thrill your heart". Judy Garland stars alongside Gene Kelly and George Murphy in this tale of two vaudeville performers who fall in love, but find their relationship tested by the arrival of WWII. The bells are ringing! Featuring a prelude on the Mighty Wurlitzer. ​ Tickets: £7.50 adults / £6.00 concessions

21st January: Bollywood Dance class for 50+ (Advance Booking essential)
New for 2020! Come along to Bollywood dance classes on Tuesday mornings from 10.30am - 12.00 on 21st January, 28th January,
4th February & 11th February.
Classes are free, but advance booking is required.
 

Phil Kelsall MBE on The Mightly Murlitzer
Sunday 2nd February - 3.00pm ​
We are delighted to welcome back Phil Kelsall in concert at the Mighty Wurlitzer. Don't miss this opportunity to hearthe world-famous organist, who has held residency at the Blackpool Tower Ballroom for over forty years. Phil is equally well-known for his significant body of recordings and coverage on radio and television. He will play a popular, diverse programme and always provides great entertainment. ​ ​ Tickets: £15.00

Cabin in the Sky (1943)
Sunday 9th February - 3.00pm ​
E Y Harburg - one of the great lyricists of American song - is best known for The Wizard of Oz, but he also wrote for this highly acclaimed musical. With a magnificent cast led by Ethel Waters, this is a compelling story of a gambler who receives a second chance to reform and to make up with his wife. Featuring a prelude on the Mighty Wurlitzer. ​ Tickets: £7.50 adults / £6.00 concessions

Bollywood Dance Classes for children
And mini-tours for children ages 7-14
Short tours of the collection and dance sessions take place on Tuesday
18th February & Thursday 20th February at 10.30am -12.30pm.
Classes are free, but advance booking is required.
Accompanying adult is required (one adult for a maximum of 3 children).

Ship Ahoy (1942)
Sunday 23rd February - 3.00pm
Bert Lahr is fondly remembered as the cowardly lion in The Wizard of Oz, but he starred in many more films including this comedy musical about a stressed writer who decides to take a cruise. Lahr plays Skip, who books their tickets to Puerto Rico - because that’s the destination of a troupe of pretty girls. Featuring a prelude on the Mighty Wurlitzer. 
Tickets: £7.50 adults / £6.00 concessions

Sunny (1941)
Sunday 15th March - 3.00pm ​
Ray Bolger, the scarecrow Judy meets on the Yellow Brick Road, also had a successful career in musicals. Here he performs alongside the beautiful Anna Neagle, a circus performer who falls in love with a rich car dealer’s son, against her family’s wishes. Look out for Bolger’s amazing elastic legs! Featuring a prelude on the Mighty Wurlitzer. ​ Tickets: £7.50 adults / £6.00 concessions

Len Rawle MBE at the console of the Mighty Wurlitzer
Sunday 29th March - 3.00pm ​
Len has been at the heart of the UK theatre organ scene for many years and was featured on the very first episode of “The Organist Entertains.” He has played the Museum’s Wurlitzer for concerts on many occasions and returns by popular demand to play a delightful selection of light music, Big Band numbers and West End Musicals. Tickets: £15.00

Moon Over Miami (1941)
Sunday 5th April - 3.00pm ​
Jack Haley is best known for the Tin Man who wished he had a heart, but he went on to star in many films including this comedy musical. Betty Grable plays one of three sisters who come into a small legacy when they expected a large one, so they up sticks and head to Miami to hunt for rich husbands. Featuring a prelude on the Mighty Wurlitzer. ​ Tickets: £7.50 adults / £6.00 concessions

Presenting Lily Mars (1943)
Sunday 19th April - 3.00pm
After The Wizard of Oz, Garland starred in an array of musical films. Here she plays a small-town Indiana girl, Lily Mars, who dreams to be a stage actress. She begs a visiting Broadway producer, but when he dismisses her, she follows him to New York and finds a way into his show…and his heart. Featuring a prelude on the Mighty Wurlitzer. ​ Tickets: £7.50 adults / £6.00 concessions

The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Sunday 3rd May - 3.00pm
80 years after it was first screened, we are delighted to present this classic film favorite starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr and Jack Haley. With a cast of 9,200 actors, 68 sets, a 130-piece orchestra and a 300-strong chorus, join us for 100 minutes of unforgettable musical
entertainment. Featuring a prelude on the Mighty Wurlitzer. 
Tickets: £7.50 adults / £6.00 concessions

Thursday 30th January - Sunday 28th June 2020
World War One Exhibition

This new exhibition commemorates the end of the First World War and
the Returning Soldier. The Museum has a library of recordings for use
on reproducing pianos, and a collection of instruments that were at the
height of popularity in the 1910s and 1920s. The music that emerged
from the war is sometimes upbeat and incongruous with the tragedy of
the period, while other music seeks to evoke the trauma of the front-line.
The exhibition features a local history perspective, a display of music
from our collection, and recordings of music from the era played on our
instruments. Thursday 30th January until Sunday 28th June 2020. Admission to the exhibition is free.

Mighty Wurlitzer Exhbition
The Mighty Wurlitzer has just celebrated its 90th Birthday and a new
exhibition explores the history of this very special instrument, invented
to be a substitute orchestra to accompany silent films. It looks at the
development of the cinema organ and the social background of the times
and the technological changes through which it has survived.
Until Sunday 28th June 2020. Admission included with Museum entry charge.

Opening hours

The Museum is open on Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Bank Holiday Mondays from 10:30am to 5pm, last entry is at 4pm.

Tours with live demonstrations of self playing instruments and the Mighty Wurlitzer take place at 11am, 1pm & 3pm or 11am & 3pm on Tuesdays.

Group Visits

The Museum is open on any day for groups consisting of 20 people or more. Please contact the museum for further details.

Admission:

Standard entry: £11.00
Concessions: £9.00 
Children (5 to 16): £5.00
Family ticket (2 adults plus up to 3 children) £25.00
50% off for residents of the London Borough of Hounslow

January 9, 2020