“Death cannot stop true love,” says Westley. “All it can do is delay it for a while.”
Apparently scheduling conflicts cannot stop true fandom for The Princess Bride, either, only delay it for a while. Originally scheduled for October 2025, The Princess Bride: An Inconceivable Evening with Cary Elwes finally arrives at the Tom and Janet Ikeda Theater at Mesa Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Friday, February 6. Elwes, who starred as the dashing hero Westley in Rob Reiner’s beloved 1987 movie, will engage in a moderated discussion with the audience after the movie is screened, offering behind-the-scenes stories and commentary. The event is similar to the William Shatner Live tour which recently played a packed Orpheum Theatre downtown, in which the star followed a showing of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
Also like the Shatner show, there is a V.I.P. meet-and-greet opportunity with Elwes – for an extra fee, of course. It’s scheduled prior to the start of the movie at 4:30 p.m. sharp with a lobby check-in at 4 p.m. (late arrivals, we are warned, cannot be accommodated).
Reiner’s facetious fairy tale, based on William Goldman’s 1973 novel, has become a quotable standard in pop-culture, right down to its misuse of the word “inconceivable.” The yarn follows the abduction of Westley’s true love Buttercup (Robin Wright) as part of a plot by the vile Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon) to start a war. Westley, who Buttercup believed was dead, has other plans.
The movie is remembered not only for its quotable lines but for its performances by, among others, Andre the Giant as the sweet-natured giant Fezzik; Wallace Shawn as “inconceivable”-blurting evil mastermind Vizzini; Billy Crystal as the irascible Miracle Max and Carol Kane as his equally irascible wife; Christopher Guest as a silky-voiced six-fingered villain; Peter Falk as the kindly grandfather telling the story to under the weather grandson Fred Savage; and Peter Cook as an “Impressive Clergyman.” Perhaps most memorable is Mandy Patinkin as the soft-spoken, revenge-minded Spanish swordsman Inigo Montoya.
Amid all these classic turns, the excellence of Elwes might be easy to overlook, but he’s the essential, suavely witty hub on which the ensemble turns. Across his long career – he recently, effectively played against type in the Gus Van Sant drama Dead Man’s Wire – The Princess Bride is clearly his signature role, and getting to discuss it with him in person sounds like quite an inconceivable experience.
At the same venue the following evening, by the way, at 7:30 p.m. February 7, is another ‘80s-era meta-movie experience, Dirty Dancing in Concert, in which the 1987 favorite is accompanied live by musicians and singers. Tickets for The Princess Bride: An Inconceivable Evening with Cary Elwes start at $56.50; tickets for Dirty Dancing in Concert start at $41.50. Go to mesaartscenter.com for details.
