Arts & Entertainment

'The English Teacher' Debuts in Port Washington

Julianne Moore film shot, screened at Landmark on Main Street.

Port Washington residents were treated to a free screening of “The English Teacher” Monday night at Landmark on Main Street.  

Although this indy film stars Julianne Moore, Nathan Lane, Greg Kinnear and Michael Angarano, it was shots of Main Street and the interior of Landmark’s theater that inspired spontaneous bursts of applause at Monday’s screening. Also featured were some Schreiber High School students who performed as extras.    

The film’s producer Bob Salerno was on-hand to introduce the film and answer questions afterwards.    

In the movie, Moore plays Linda Sinclair, a high school English teacher in a small town in Pennsylvania. She leads a quiet, austere life. That is until Jason Sherwood, one of her former students (Angarano) returns from New York as a failed playwright. Life gets complicated when Sinclair’s drama-teacher colleague (Lane), convinces everyone to take a risk and produce the play at the local school where they work. More twists ensue once Jason’s father (Kinnear) gets involved.  

Port Washington’s Landmark Theater figures prominently in the film. The Landmark was chosen, Salerno said, after one of his associates had attended a recital there. Salerno and his team “fell in love” with the theater because it evoked the kind of space they had hoped to find. Everyone at the Landmark, he said, was “very, very accommodating” and “very helpful.”  

The Port Washington scenes were shot during a week in November 2011, bookended in between shows – one of them being the Bacon Brothers. In fact, at one point the scheduling was such that Salerno joked the Bacon Brothers actually might have to perform with the movie sets onstage.  

Monday’s audience seemed to enjoy the film and it’s quiet storytelling, with one woman marveling that “it had no violence.”  

The movie should be in theaters by May 24, Salerno said, adding “tell your friends.”


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