Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times

Charlie Chaplin directed and starred in the madcap silent film Modern Times, widely considered to be his greatest work due to its razor-sharp wit, comedic timing and of course, the music. In Chaplin’s final “Little Tramp” adventure, he plays a hapless factory laborer who clings to the hope of a brighter tomorrow alongside his beloved "Gamin" (Paulette Goddard). A self-taught musician with no formal training in composition, Chaplin also dictated the film’s score; his most famous song, “Smile,” accompanies the film’s last moments. Timothy Brock, a Seattle-born world authority on early 20th century works and silent film score preservationist, conducts the Seattle Symphony as the 1936 part-talkie comedy is projected above the stage in perfect synchronicity.