Hitchcock’s Silent Thriller ‘The Lodger,” Featuring Dorothy Papadokos on the Organ

Come experience Alfred Hitchcock’s 1927 silent film thriller “The Lodger,” with a live organ performance by world renowned concert organist Dorothy Papadakos at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.

Papadakos, a Julliard graduate, will improvise the accompaniment in real time as the film plays on a large screen in the sanctuary. She served as organist for The Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City from the 1990s through 2001. During her time at the Cathedral she built a reputation with her vivid organ improvisations, for her ability to reach out to involve musicians and music from all walks of life and to integrate this music with the music of the Anglican tradition.

She was organist for the Paul Winter Consort at the Cathedral’s Easter and Christmas services and performed with the ensemble on their Grammy Award-winning album “Silver Solstice,” released in 2005. She is also a composer.

Papadakos will perform in St. Paul’s historic sanctuary on the main pipe organ, a Goulding & Wood 38-rank, 30-stop instrument with the pipes located on either side of the altar. The church also has a 9-rank G & W antiphonal gallery organ with festival trumpets and other ranks that complement the main organ.

Papadakos has performed widely, accompanying other silent film classics “The Phantom of the Opera,” “Nosferatu,” “Hunchback of Notre Dame” and “Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde.”

Now, she turns to “The Lodger,” which has many “firsts”:

• Hitchcock’s first psychological thriller
• First time Hitchcock put himself in his films
• First film ever made about Jack the Ripper
• One of only three silent films Hitchcock made

Tickets are $10 and available on Eventbrite here and at the door. Concert benefits St. Paul’s.

Here is a clip from a past Papdakos performance of “Phantom of the Opera” at St. Paul’s.