Amanda Palmer Hosts Film in Woodstock

It’s not hard to imagine that filmmaker Tim Burton’s Halloween-themed The Nightmare Before Christmas might be a favorite flick of local musician Amanda Palmer—after all, both the movie and the Dresden Dolls front woman share more than a little of the same playfully dark sensibility. Thus, it’s a cinch that Palmer would be into hosting the screening of Burton’s 1993 stop-motion animation musical classic at the Tinker Street Cinema on October 29.

The Nightmare Before Christmas began as a poem written by Burton in 1982 when he was working for Walt Disney Productions as an animator. The story centers around lead character Jack Skellington, the king of Halloween Town, who discovers nearby Christmas Town and schemes to take over the latter holiday.


After studying theater and working as a street performer in her native Boston area, Palmer met her Dresden Dolls partner, drummer Joe Viglione, at Halloween party in 2000. With their camp-cabaret songs and arresting steam-punk style, the duo steadily built a worldwide cult following and released two albums before Palmer turned to a solo career (the band reunited this year for a tour that included a three-night stand in Woodstock).

Amanda Palmer will host a screening of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas at the Tinker Street Cinema in Woodstock on October 29 at 7pm. Tickets are $15. Audience members are encouraged to come in costume as their favorite character from the film, and prizes will be awarded for best costume.