Charlie Chaplin portrayed by Jeremy Meier at Simpsonville Arts Center

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2. Charlie Chaplin portrayed by Jeremy Meier

FREE Admission. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Come early to get a seat.  Doors open at 1 pm.

When Charles Chaplin began filming The Great Dictator in 1939, there was hesitant Hollywood enthusiasm for the project. How big a risk might it be to launch a brazen satire of Naziism and Hitler while the United States was staying out of the war in Europe? Audiences were curious though. The Great Dictator would be Chaplin’s first film in which they’d hear him speak dialogue. And then Chaplin’s voice grew louder. By 1942, Chaplin was publicly advocating for the United States to support Russia in a second front against Germany. J. Edgar Hoover was paying attention and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) had questions. Gossip columnists turned their focus toward Chaplin and real-life drama intensified. The once beloved “Little Fellow” was now in an arena in which his reputation was assailed and his allegiances questioned. What would he say in response?

On-site parking for the Simpsonville Arts Center is available at the intersection of Academy and College streets between the Simpsonville Municipal Cemetery and Arts Center. Additional parking may be available behind the Simpsonville Municipal Complex and Police Department depending on the number of visitors to the respective buildings. All parking near Arts Center grounds can be accessed via East Curtis and College streets. On-street parking is available along Academy, College, and Church streets. There are also parking lots off North Main and South Main streets, West Trade Street, and across from the Municipal Complex on East Curtis Street, which is an overflow parking lot for First Baptist Simpsonville Church and the public.