Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Young@Heart TONIGHT on PBS


If you've never heard of the Young @ Heart Chorus I urge you to tune into your local PBS Station tonight (Tuesday, Jan. 12) where the Walker George documentary "Young@Heart" will play nationwide on Independent Lens at 9PM in most communities.

I stumbled upon Young@Heart accidentally, being intrigued by the DVD cover and checking it out of the library. What a gem it was - and is. The documentary which follows a Boston-area chorus made up entirely of senior citizens does what so many movies, books, and TV shows fail to do - it shows senior citizens as real people not caricatures obsessed with the price of milk and next doctor's appointment.

These seniors are living fully, as one member of the chorus explains, "That's what we have - a lot of life." Seeing senior citizens excited, passionate, engaged in something they love, working hard, learning, sharing and so completely alive is inspiring. Young@Heart and the senior who make up the chorus are funny, heartbreaking, and most importantly real. If Fred Knittle's performance Coldplay's "Fix You" doesn't affect you, you'd better check your pulse. And, yes, that's the last and really least important thing about this chorus of senior citizens, they sing exclusively rock tunes. Watch and be amazed!

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