(GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.) – The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center will screen The Polar Express on Wednesday, December 28, 2011, at 6 p.m. ($6 general admission).  Directed by Robert Zemeckis and based on children’s author Chris Van Allsburg’s modern holiday classic of the same name, The Polar Express (2004) revolves around Billy (Hayden McFarland), who longs to believe in Santa Claus but finds it quite difficult to do so, what with his family’s dogged insistence that all of it, from the North Pole, to the elves, to the man himself, is all just a myth.

This all changes, however, on Christmas Eve, when a mysterious train visits Billy in the middle of the night, promising to take him and a group of other lucky children to the North Pole for a visit with Santa. The train’s conductor (Tom Hanks) along with the other passengers help turn Billy’s crisis in faith into a journey of self-discovery.

The Mahaiwe is located at 14 Castle Street in Great Barrington, Mass. Box Office Hours: Wednesday through Saturday from noon to 6 pm and three hours before show times. Movie tickets are available in person only. For more information, see Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center or call 413.528.0100.