Algonquin Theatre's 'Cinema Under the Stars' Returns Monday

Cinema Under the Stars, Algonquin Arts Theatre’s free outdoor movie theatre, returns with four titles beginning Monday, July 23, with Academy Award-winner “Hugo," a theater spokesman said. 

The series continues July 30 with the Disney animated classic “Lady & The Tramp” and August 6 with “The Muppets” (2011), according to a theater release.

The final film of the summer, “Mary Poppins” starring Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, is scheduled for August 13, the release says.

Each movie will be projected on the Algonquin Arts Theatre flytower in Old Squan Plaza, Abe Voorhees Drive, at 8 p.m., the release says.

Attendees are being asked bring their own chair, but popcorn, soda and other concessions will be available for purchase, the release says.

In the event of rain, each movie will be shown the next night. For weather updates, call movie phone at 732-528-5445 or go online to the Algonquin Arts Theatre Facebook page at facebook.com/algonquinarts or Twitter feed @algonquinarts, the release says. 

Three of this summer’s four movies have won a combined 11 Academy Awards, including two award-winners from this year’s Oscars, the release says.

Directed by Martin Scorsese and staring Sacha Baron Cohen, Ben Kingsley and Asa Butterfield, “Hugo” won five Academy Awards at the 2012 Oscars including Best Cinematography and Best Visual Effects, the release says.

In the film, an orphaned boy secretly lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station and looks after the clocks. He gets caught up in a mystery adventure when he attempts to repair a mechanical man, the release says. 

“Lady and the Tramp," release by Disney in 1955, is a romantic adventure in which a pedigreed cocker spaniel, Lady, and a roguish mutt from the wrong side of the tracks, Tramp, meet and fall in love in a "fun-filled tale that has won the hearts of audiences everywhere," the release says.

The third movie of the summer, “The Muppets," released in 2011 and stars Amy Adams, Jason Segel, Chris Cooper and Rashida Jones, tells the story of Walter, the world's biggest Muppet fan, his brother Gary, and Gary's girlfriend Mary who help Kermit the Frog reunite the Muppets, the release says

Together they must raise $10 million to save the Muppet Theater from Tex Richman, a businessman who plans to demolish the studio to drill for oil, the release says.

The song “Man or Muppet” won the Academy Award for Best Song in 2012, the release says.

The series closes with another five-time Academy Award-winner, Mary Poppins, which features Andrews and Van Dyke singing "some of the most famous songs from film of all time" including, “A Spoon Full of Sugar,” “Let’s Go Fly a Kite” and “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” the release says.

This summer's movie schedule is as follows:

• Hugo -- Monday, July 23, 8 p.m.
• Lady & The Tramp -- Monday, July 30, 8 p.m.
• The Muppets (2011) -- Monday, August 6, 8 p.m.
• Mary Poppins -- Monday, August 13, 8 p.m.

Algonquin Arts Theatre was founded in 1992 as a nonprofit organization to provide cultural enrichment and educational enhancement of the highest quality for Central New Jersey residents, the release says.