The Jane Pickens Theatre & Event Center at 49 Touro Street will transform Newport into Amity Island for a Labor Day celebration of Steven Spielberg’s classic thriller “Jaws.”
The weeklong event runs Aug. 29 through Sept. 4, featuring a nationwide 4K restoration of the 1975 blockbuster that helped define the summer movie season.
“We needed a bigger theater back in May when the greater Rhode Island area flooded in for our early JAWS 50th screenings,” organizers said in promotional materials.
The festivities kick off Friday, Aug. 29, with doors opening at 6 p.m., followed by live music from Los Duderinos at 6:30 p.m. and the movie screening at 7:30 p.m. Opening night tickets cost $20 for general admission and $18 for JPT members.
Narragansett Beer will sponsor the opening night screening with merchandise, promotional items and beer tastings. Charter Books will set up in the lobby with shark and movie-related literature.
Regular screenings continue Aug. 30 through Sept. 4, with tickets priced at $15 general admission and $13 for JPT members. Weekend evening screenings will feature wine tastings by new JPT vendor Juggernaut Wines.
The 1975 film stars Roy Scheider as police chief Martin Brody, Richard Dreyfuss as marine biologist Matt Hooper and Robert Shaw as shark hunter Quint. The PG-rated drama runs 124 minutes and follows the trio’s battle against a great white shark terrorizing the fictional New England resort town of Amity Island.
Show times include 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. screenings Aug. 29-31, and 4:30 p.m. screenings Sept. 2-4.
The event is presented with support from What’s Up Newp, a sponsor of the screenings.
Tickets and complete scheduling information are available at janepickens.com.
