The Crandell Theatre in Chatham is celebrating 100 years in 2026, and are doing so with a 100th Anniversary Series of shows and events. On June 14, the next edition of the Series is a tribute to comedian, writer and director Mel Brooks. The all-day event will feature three of Brooks’ funniest and most beloved films: The Producers, Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein.
The Crandell Theatre is a 501(c)(3), nonprofit community cinema in Chatham, NY, one of only 54 independent, single-screen movie theaters left in the United States and one of a handful left in the Hudson Valley.
Beginning in 2010, Crandell Theatre, Inc., raised more than $1 million to purchase the historic theater and make needed repairs. In November 2024, the Crandell closed for a $4.2 million dollar construction project to enhance the moviegoing experience for generations to come. The theater reopened in October 2025 during its annual festival FilmColumbia’s 25th anniversary.
THE PRODUCERS 1967 PG, 88 min., 1pm
Down-on-his-luck theatrical producer Max Bialystock (Leo Mostel) is forced to romance rich old ladies to finance his efforts. When timid accountant Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder) reviews Max’s books, the two hit upon a way to make a fortune by producing a sure-fire flop. The musical in question? Springtime for Hitler.
Hilarious and irreverent, Brooks’ first film spawned a real-life musical adaptation in 2001 that went on to win 12 Tony Awards and made Brooks a member of that rare club of EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winners. Tickets
BLAZING SADDLES 1974 R, 93 min., 3:30pm
Not just an affectionately riotous parody of the cowboy genre, Blazing Saddles also keenly engages in deep-seated issues of racism in American life. A town where everyone seems to be named Johnson is in the way of the railroad. When the west’s first Black sheriff rides into town, the sophisticated urbanite (Cleavon Little) and his perpetually drunk gunslinger sidekick (Gene Wilder) defend the townsfolk from thugs and corrupt land grabbers with their anachronistic, spot-on social commentary.
Mel Brooks and his co-writers, who included Richard Pryor, gleefully mix third-rail subject matter and taboo language to call out the racism and hypocrisy at the heart of America’s cherished frontier myths. Brooks appears in multiple roles, from the region’s governor to a Yiddish-speaking Native American chief. Tickets
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN 1974 PG, 106 min., 6pmA masterpiece of comedy, Young Frankenstein is a brilliant, loving homage to 1930s horror films with a pitch-perfect script co-written by Gene Wilder. Respected American medical lecturer Dr. Frederick Frankenstein (Wilder) learns that he has inherited his infamous grandfather’s estate in Transylvania. Arriving at the castle, Dr. Frankenstein soon begins to recreate his grandfather’s experiments that reanimated the dead with the help of servants Igor (Marty Feldman), Inga (Teri Garr) and the fearsome Frau Blücher (Cloris Leachman). His own monster (Peter Boyle) takes an interest in the doctor’s fiancée, Elizabeth (Madeline Kahn).
With an impeccable cast of Brooksian regulars buttressed by Borscht Belt burlesque, this classic spoof will restore your optimism and rejuvenate your funny bone. Tickets
For more information, visit crandelltheatre.org.
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