WASHINGTON — What better way to spend summer nights than by singing “Summer Nights?”
Now imagine it with a crowd of people on picnic blankets along the Georgetown Waterfront.
That’s the deal Tuesday night as “Grease” (1978) plays at sundown as part of the free “Sunset Cinema” outdoor movie series, hosted by the Georgetown Business Improvement District.
“All ages love it,” events director Debbie Young told WTOP. “It doesn’t matter that it’s an older movie. When you’re young, you see this movie and it becomes nostalgic. … There might be some dancing! … We’re going to do a dance-off at the beginning; have some prizes.”
“If anyone can do the hand jive, you win a prize,” communications director Lauren Boston said. “Wear your leather pants and letterman jackets!”
You’ll hear John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John and the rest of the cast perform all of the film’s timeless hits, including “Summer Nights,” “Greased Lightning,” “Hopelessly Devoted,” “There Are Worse Things I Could Do,” “We Go Together” and “You’re the One That I Want.”
“I love the dance in the carnival where they’re on that thing that moves up and down in the fun house,” Boston said. “He’s dressed like her and she’s dressed like him.”
The movie selection is the result of an online fan poll.
“This year we left it up to audience votes,” Boston said. “We whittled it down to 12 movies that we put on Facebook and newsletter and did a poll. Our followers picked five of those. … Last year, we left the fifth one up to voting. This year we decided to do it with all five.”
This year’s choices included “Dirty Dancing” (1987), “Pitch Perfect” (2012), “Dreamgirls” (2006), “Grease” (1978) and “Footloose” (1982), which was rescheduled for Aug. 14 due to rain.
As you might guess, the common theme in this year’s lineup is “Movies That Rock.”
“This is our fourth year,” Young said. “The first year, we did movies that were filmed or feature Georgetown. … Then, the following year, it was the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service [so] we did all movies that feature national parks. Last year was women in film, so they were leads or directed or both. And then this year is ‘Movies That Rock.'”
Over the years, they have watched attendance grow.
“The first year we expected 200 or 300, but we’ve always averaged about 750,” Young said. “One of our biggest movies was last year, ‘Hidden Figures.’ We had close to 1,000.”
Films start at sunset around 8:30 p.m., but you should arrive early to grab a spot and picnic.
“You definitely should bring a blanket,” Young said. “We try not to encourage chairs, but if you bring a chair we ask that you sit towards the back so you’re not blocking anybody. Definitely bring some bug spray because we’re in the grass on the waterfront. … There’s a huge pop-up screen that they blow up with air. … We also do closed caption, so everyone can enjoy it.”
There will also be plenty of refreshments from food trucks and local restaurants.
“Tonight we’ll have Insomnia Cookies,” Young said. “The first 250 people who come at 7:30 p.m. will get a free cookie! They’re amazing. They just opened in Georgetown, and they’re hot out of the oven. … We have food trucks: Ben & Jerrys, Stella Popkern and Muncheez. … We also have some restaurants offering good specials. Mr. Smith’s, [if you] mention Sunset Cinema, they’ll give you 20 percent off an entree. Pizzeria Paradiso is doing 15 percent off.”
Best of all is the view, which has flipped so that the Kennedy Center is in the background.
“You’d be hard-pressed to find a better view for cinema and a free outdoor event,” Boston said.
Find more details on the Sunset Cinema website. Listen to our full conversation below:
