Wonders of the Wurlitzer (WoW@PPAC)
Experience the majesty of PPAC’s
Mighty Wurlitzer, with our free concert series,
Wonders of the Wurlitzer (WoW@PPAC!)
Built in 1927 to provide full orchestral accompaniment to silent films, flourishes today under the artistic direction of House Organist Peter Edwin Krasinski. The Wurlitzer continues to WoW audiences!
2024-2025 Schedule
Thank you to all who attended our 2024/25 events. Our 2025/26 season is being planned.
New WoW@PPAC events will be announced soon. Subscribe to our newsletter, Showtimes, to be notified of these and other PPAC events. Are you with a senior center, school, or other organization that can take advantage of these free community events? Email wow@ppacri.org to be added to our Wurlitzer notification list.
FLICKERS: Rhode Island International Film Festival Opening Night Ceremony
Tuesday, August 5, 2025 at 7P
House Organist Peter Krasinski will be accompanying the short silent film The Red Balloon as part of the Festival’s opening night. This is a ticketed event. Tickets will be available to purchase via https://rifilmfest.org/.
Holiday Recordings
Experience the Mighty Wurlizter from the comfort of your home. Click below to view recorded holiday performances.
Valentine's Day - "Love is in the Air"
Juneteenth - "From Free to Freedom"
From FREE to FREEDOM is presented in collaboration with Mixed Magic Theatre, JuneteenthRI, RI Black Storytellers, and Providence’s Department of Art, Culture, and Tourism.
Independence Day
Halloween - "The Phantom of the Opera"
House Organist Peter Edwin Krasinski accompanies the 1925 silent film, The Phantom of The Opera.
Christmas - "Holiday Magic"
About Providence’s Mighty Wurlitzer
PPAC’s “Mighty Wurlitzer” was built in 1927 and has five keyboards, twenty-one ranks, and percussion that can produce many orchestral sounds, as well as sound effects that can be utilized when accompanying silent films. The PPAC “Mighty Wurlitzer” is one of only three five-manual keyboard consoles built by Wurlitzer. Lincoln W.N. Pratt assisted a small team of PPAC Trustees in finding the 5/21 Wurlitzer organ which was privately owned; the organ was purchased by PPAC in 1982 and has held a special place of honor at the theatre ever since.
Lincoln W.N. Pratt was the PPAC House Organist from 1982 until his passing in 1998; Mr. Pratt played the organ prior to many Broadway shows and he helped create the first, free Wednesdays at the Wurlitzer series which has now become the Wonders of Wurlitzer (WoW@PPAC) series; these community experiences are still free and open to the public. The console of the Mighty Wurlitzer was posthumously dedicated to Mr. Pratt.
World-renowned organist and silent film accompanist Peter Edwin Krasinski was appointed PPAC’s second House Organist in 2020 expanding the magic of this magnificent machine including the creation of a virtual library and collaborating with the community to celebrate and lift the voices of Rhode Island’s cultural diversity.