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October 16, 2025
On the Sunday before Halloween, the haunting tones of Rockefeller Chapel’s E.M. Skinner pipe organ will once again breathe life into a classic silent film. As part of the Chapel’s annual Halloween Horror Film Classic, it will honor the centennial anniversary of The Phantom of the Opera (1925) with a large-scale screening of the film accompanied by a live organ score on Sunday, October 26, at 7 p.m.
“We try every year to select a picture celebrating 100 years,” said Mike Boyman, Events Manager at Rockefeller Chapel. “Two years ago, we did Nosferatu, and last year, The Hunchback of Notre Dame. It’s exciting to screen these films on their big anniversaries, especially when they also connect to our space. The Phantom of the Opera is perfect for that, because the organ is central to the story.”
This year’s live score will be performed by Dennis Scott, the house organist for Chicago’s famed Music Box Theatre. He takes over for the late Jay Warren, a longtime collaborator who accompanied many of the Chapel’s past silent film screenings. “It’s almost an improvisation through the course of the movie,” Boyman explained. “The organists know the music, but they spend a few days familiarizing themselves with our organ—experimenting with tone, color, and the combinations of pipes.”
Transforming the Chapel into a movie theater is no small feat. While Rockefeller is equipped with a massive organ, it lacks a built-in screen or projection setup. “We work with our longtime audio/visual vendor to bring in their largest screen and most powerful projector,” Boyman said. “We only have a few hours after Sunday service to get everything in place, so it’s an intense three or four-hour period before the screening.”
The event is co-hosted with Doc Films, the student-led, volunteer-run cinema and film society at UChicago, which has advised the film selection process since the series’ inception over a decade ago. Students also help with promotional efforts, bringing together cinephiles from across campus and beyond. “Many of our audience are Doc Films members,” Boyman said. “They’re passionate about silent film and always eager to help spread the word.”
A goal for these screenings is to use the space to reaffirm the power of these films. “What I hope people take away is that these films are still living, effective art,” says Boyman. “Watching them in this setting—the atmosphere, the organ starting a crescendo—makes the films come alive. Nosferatu was still able to scare and enthrall the audience.”
Looking ahead, Boyman hopes to expand the series by adding a spring comedy screening and exploring more ambitious musical collaborations for future milestones—such as a 2027 screening of Metropolis for its 100th anniversary, which is planned to feature electronic instrumentation alongside the organ.
Events like this highlight the breadth of programming at Rockefeller Chapel and its ability to serve as a space for both spiritual and artistic expression. “The Chapel can surprise people,” Boyman said. “A lot of visitors see it as just a place of worship, but it’s also a versatile, creative space. We want to invite people in to experience that.”