By Coral Gables Gazette staff

Coral Gables Art Cinema will spotlight classic Hollywood musical magic on Tuesday, August 19, at 7:30 p.m., when it presents a members-only screening of Strike Up the Band (1940), starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney. The showing forms part of the theater’s Musicals for Members initiative, which blends cultural preservation with community engagement in ways that speak directly to Coral Gables’ identity as a city of the arts.

A story of youthful ambition

Directed by Busby Berkeley, Strike Up the Band tells the story of Jimmy Connors (Rooney), a teenage drummer who dreams of leading his school orchestra to Chicago for a national competition hosted by real-life bandleader Paul Whiteman. With the support of Mary Holden (Garland), a spirited singer and loyal friend, Jimmy and his classmates stage an ambitious production to raise the $200 needed for the trip. Their optimism is tested when illness threatens to derail their plans, a plotline that both grounds the story and heightens its emotional impact.

Film critic Mattie Lucas of From the Front Row has described the picture as one in which “Rooney and Garland are full of effervescent charm, and Berkeley delivers some of his strongest numbers of his MGM period.” Eight decades later, the combination of youthful energy, inventive choreography, and heartfelt music still resonates with audiences who find in these films a reminder of simpler hopes and enduring friendships.

Musical legacy on the Big Screen

The Garland–Rooney pair remains one of MGM’s most bankable duos of the era, having co-starred in more than a half dozen musicals that married plot-driven wholesomeness with dazzling musical spectacle. Berkeley’s presence behind the camera elevated Strike Up the Band into more than just a studio product—it became a film that captured the wartime spirit of determination, resourcefulness, and joy.

The Art Cinema’s decision to highlight this film in its series underscores the importance of musicals not only as entertainment but also as cultural artifacts that speak to resilience. In 1940, audiences embraced Strike Up the Band as both escapism and inspiration; in 2025, Coral Gables audiences revisit it as a mirror of their own city’s investment in optimism, creativity, and intergenerational dialogue.

Program with purpose

The Musicals for Members initiative is offered free to members who reserve tickets in person, reinforcing the theater’s role as a civic institution rooted in accessibility and gratitude. The program has been described by the cinema as designed to “sing with gratitude and delight” while introducing new audiences to beloved classics.

Funding from the Harry & Mary Perrin Fund and the Slesnick Family Fund of the Coral Gables Community Foundation ensures the series has a community backbone. Former Coral Gables Mayor Don Slesnick serves as host, further linking the program to the city’s civic leadership. His presence highlights how culture in Coral Gables often emerges not only from institutions but also from individuals who view the arts as essential to community life.

A venue for curated film

Coral Gables Art Cinema has steadily built a reputation as one of South Florida’s most important venues for curated film, pairing contemporary world cinema with carefully chosen classics. In recent years, this balancing act has distinguished the theater from others by presenting cinema as both forward-looking and deeply anchored in history.

Musicals occupy a unique space in this ecosystem. They carry nostalgia for older generations who grew up with Garland and Berkeley but also invite discovery by younger audiences, for whom the spectacle and emotional directness of the genre can feel refreshingly new. A screening like Strike Up the Band therefore operates across multiple registers—memory, education, and sheer entertainment.

The timing of this event also carries symbolic weight. Garland and Rooney’s musical optimism arose in an America on the brink of global conflict. Coral Gables audiences today, navigating a different set of uncertainties, find themselves in conversation with that legacy of resilience. The act of gathering together for a joyful story, sung with conviction, underscores how culture offers both escape and perspective.

Local dimension

For Coral Gables, where civic identity has long been intertwined with culture, programs such as Musicals for Members strengthen the ties between residents and institutions. The Art Cinema is not merely presenting a film—it is curating a shared experience rooted in community pride.

In this sense, Strike Up the Band becomes more than a Hollywood classic. It becomes a vehicle through which Coral Gables reaffirms its place as a city committed to the arts, memory, and public celebration. Audiences will not only see Garland and Rooney in their youthful brilliance but will also participate in a local ritual of cultural continuity.

Event details

• What: Strike Up the Band (1940), starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
• Where: Coral Gables Art Cinema, 260 Aragon Avenue
• When: Tuesday, August 19, at 7:30 p.m.
• Admission: Free for members with in-person reservation

For more information about the Musicals for Members series, or to learn about membership benefits, visit gablescinema.com.