Right in the Eye: Live Movie-Concert of George Méliès' Films

On Thursday, February 12th, 2026, the Community Center for the Performing Arts proudly welcomes Right in the Eye: Live Movie-Concert of George Méliès' Films to the WOW Hall. Right in the Eye is a show to experience that embarks audiences, from youngster to seniors, through a fantastic journey. Reviews said about this Five-Star-Show at the Edinburgh Fringe “A magical hour where films, light and music weave a rich tapestry. A unique experience.” Created by Jean-François Alcoléa and praised by the Great-Great-Granddaughter of legendary filmmaker and cinematographer Georges Méliès, Right in the Eye features a captivating, multi-layered score performed by three virtuoso musicians, offering an amazing emotional voyage. Using an extraordinary range of instruments—including piano, percussion, guitar, and unique oddities like the aquaphone, theremin, and even plastic take-out lids—the musicians bring new life to Méliès' films. Their mesmerizing music evokes the technical wizardry and playful creativity that defined his work. This multimedia production, showcasing 12 films, blends live performance with stunning visuals, offering an emotional journey through early cinema. The inventiveness of the musicians and imagery mirrors Méliès’ boundless imagination, creating a unique experience where both music and film work in perfect harmony to reimagine cinema’s early years. “It is at once inventive, elegant, and moving... right to the core. “— Festival Avignon, France ---- Concept, musical compositions and sound creation, keyboard, string structure, melodica, objects: Jean François Alcoléa Drum, guitar: Fabrice Favriou Sound, keyboard, percussions, objects: Thomas Desmartis Sound, Light & video manager: Mathieu Lucas “He would have loved it!” said Méliès Great Granddaughter "We are living in the movie world created by Georges Méliès more than a century ago, smug in the illusion that we are experiencing the very last thing."—The New York Times, USA “This show rises to the challenge of reflecting the wondrous singularity that so appropriately describes the films produced by Méliès. It is at once inventive, elegant, and moving... right to the core. “— Festival Avignon, France “A music that stirs fantasies having fine-tuned a varied, top-notch sonorous instrumentation that would certainly not have displeased the filmmaker.” — Zibeline, France ----- Jean-François ALCOLÉA Jean-François Alcoléa has a musical and instrumental degree from the National Conservatoire in Poitiers – piano, chamber music, composition, jazz music, vocal music. During his studies, he develops an interest for improvised music and follows workshops with Yves Robert, François Raulin and Jean-Pierre Peuvion. He meets Christian Ivaldi, a concert pianist, Philippe Capdenat, a composer and Paul-André Gaye, a concert performer and a piano teacher with whom he goes deeper into his training in Paris. Jean-François Alcoléa is a pianist, a composer, an improviser and a stage designer. His shows reflect his plural worlds, combining music, sound effects, lights, stills and animations, street arts, dance, texts, and visual creations. “Jean-François Alcoléa is one of the all too rare musicians who leave an indelible mark in our minds thanks to their talents, of course, but also because of their charisma and sweet madness… one of those who restores integrity to creative work”. – La Nouvelle République (French Newspaper). He has presented his shows to renowned events and venues such as the International Zaragoza Exhibition in Spain, The French Consulate & French Embassy or the European Heritage Days. Since 2000, Jean-François Alcoléa creates and presents his own productions with the collaboration of high-skilled artists and technicians. Having an interest in history, ethnology, and sociology, Jean-François Alcoléa prompts it to focus on bygone memories, location showcasing, and in-situ research to produce unique, original shows, event scenographies, and walk-through experiences linked to a location, a theme, or a special event. He acts as a pioneer, revealing himself in 2005-2006 with his creation Allons enfants…, a show featuring the “Manu” (former manufacture royale d’armes in France) and spotlighting site enhancements and memories of the arms plant. Then, he has been inspired by the riverside Marina setting of Cognac, and assembled a collection of tributes by local inhabitants expressing affinity for their river. It went without saying that this reflects poetic evocation more closely than documentary. During the International Zaragoza Exhibition in Spain, he has created a musical video show that highlighted water and showcases the "Fluvial Aquarium," symbolizing the rivers of the five continents. Since Alcoléa creates its own Company, he created 35 different productions. In 2013, he created the show “En plein dans l’oeil - Right in the Eye” , a live movie-concert based on Georges Méliès cinematographic works. Following 700 performances in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Morocco, Canada, England, Scotland, Romania, the USA, Jean-François Alcoléa started to tour in the USA and in Canada in the Fall of 2018, then in Winter and Fall 2022 and Spring 2023. More than 100 shows of “En plein dans l’oeil” have been performed to all audiences and young audiences, as well as workshops, masterclasses and residencies, from elementary schools to universities, even with the Seniors. A fan base has been created in the USA in relation to his artistic skills and work. His fans are now waiting for him to return. Many contacts have been made with arts industry presenters to prepare new tours in North America that lead him to return to the USA in 2024 and subsequent years. Following his international development, Jean-François Alcoléa also presented his movie-concert in Scotland during The Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the biggest International Arts Festival, in August 2019. He met new presenters and developed new collaborations all over the world. He is now working on new tours in the United Kingdom, more broadly in Europe and in North America with “En plein dans l’oeil”. By the end of 2023, “En plein dans l’oeil” will have been performed more than 700 times all over the world. In parallel of the performances of “En plein dans l’oeil”, Jean-François Alcoléa creates in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2024 a new show “Les Inattendues”, declined in several parts, combining literature and music. This show is touring in France. Jean-François Alcoléa also considers the development of future collaborations in Quebec and in the USA. In addition to his shows and original creations and event scenographies, Jean-François Alcoléa is also interested in educational workshops linked to his shows. He gets his experience in supervising from his many years as a musical teacher in a few musical schools teaching the piano, musical training and instrumental ensemble. He has animated workshops in Washington DC during his first tour in the USA in 2018, at The universities of Spearfish (ND), Burlington (VT) and College Station (TX) in 2022 or during the Louisville Children Festival in 2023. He is organizing new workshops for his tours, in the USA, in 2024 and subsequent years, like an artist residency of one week in Broomfiled, CO.