GREENFIELD — Residents can enjoy a screening of the classic sports film “A League of Their Own,” complete with an appearance at the theater by Assistant Director Mike Haley, on Wednesday, Oct. 22.
The film is presented by the Garden Cinemas along with Greenfield Community College and the Greenfield Recreation Department. Along with the 6:30 p.m. screening, the organizers have arranged for a question-and-answer session at 6 p.m. with Haley, a Conway resident whose name has appeared in the credits of 60 feature films and 18 television movies, and who can be seen as an umpire in “A League of Their Own.”
The film follows sisters Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) and Kit Keller (Lori Petty), who are tapped to play in a new women’s baseball league created during World War II, working with coach Jimmy Dugan (Tom Hanks).
The screening comes at the request of Anna Meyer, who played in the Greenfield Recreational Department’s co-ed softball league this year. Meyer said the experience was amazing and it reminded her of the film.
“It was so exciting to be back on the field. I played as a kid and I loved it; getting back into it was amazing,” Meyer said.
Meyer and some friends created a new team, “The Tenderloins,” this past summer, and while she and her teammates are “in no way professional athletes” and their struggles were different than those of the women in the film who faced sexism as female athletes, they related to the experiences of growing their skills and becoming a team.
“We didn’t win any games, but we had the most fun ever,” Meyer said.
Meyer said she reached out the Garden Cinemas to see if she could schedule a private showing of the film for her team, and was told by co-owner Isaac Mass that there would likely be broader interest in the movie, so they decided to open the screening up to the whole community.
“It’s a story about women playing, and their struggles being seen as a legitimate team and as legitimate athletes,” Meyer said. “It was a real memorable movie for me in my youth. … It’s also just really fun to watch.”
Greenfield Community College was looped in to help schedule the event and bring in Haley, who has previously given talks at the college.
Tickets are $10.50 for adults and $8.50 for children and seniors.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit gccfor.me/league.