Guests of Ambler Theater's Little Lebowski Nite Celebrate "The Big Lebowski"

It was a sold-out room at the Ambler Theater’s seventh annual Little Lebowski Nite on Wednesday, where fans of Joel and Ethan Coen’s 1998 film “The Big Lebowski” gathered for a costume contest, movie trivia, and White Russians, before watching the film in good company.

Fans of “The Dude,” Jeff Bridges’s hippie-ish character from the film, participated in a costume contest where revelers dressed as, for instance, Theodore Donald 'Donny' Kerabatsos and Saddam Hussein working the shoe-rental booth at a bowling alley.  The contest, as well as the entire fest, was emceed by Chris Collier, the theater’s associate director, who was dressed, as he described it to Patch, “in the feel of The Dude.” 

The Nite’s Saddam Hussein, otherwise known as Mark Walsh from Lansdale, won the contest and chose as his prize a Donny bobblehead and a t-shirt produced for another Lebowski festival from far away.  Other possible prizes included the movie script and other bobbleheads.

According to Collier, this is the theater’s seventh annual Little Lebowski Nite, and the fourth time they added the contest components.  This year they offered deluxe tickets that bought attendees a commemorative t-shirt and a White Russian or sarsaparilla, both of which have a connection to the movie. 

“It’s one of those annual events where we can not only revel in just movie fun but really take it to the next level and really connect with the audience in a fun and exciting way.  It’s something that I look forward to every year for that reason,” Collier said.

The trivia section followed the costume contest, where Collier quizzed the crowd on the extent of their Lebowski knowledge.  This year, Collier told the crowd, they went to the extra step of enlisting the assistance of an intern to help research questions.

Wednesday was guest and Ambler resident J.J. Jankowski’s third time at the Nite: “It was a great evening. The costumed people certainly personified the spirit of Little Lebowski Nite,” she said.

“I guess that it’s something that just for me, when I get on stage in the beginning just to say hello, the response from the crowd is easily the most energetic of any even that we have,” said Collier, who is already planning for next year.