Just the term Mighty Wurlitzer strikes a nostalgic chord. At the Old Town Music Hall in El Segundo, you'll find yourself transported back to the time when nobody talked in movies and all the sounds you heard were played live--if you were lucky, on a Wurlitzer.

Bill Field bought the Wurlitzer and opened the Old Town Music Hall in 1968. He's been playing it there ever since. The Wurlitzer is a theater organ, which means it's got organ pipes, but it also has all kinds of other stuff, way too fun for regular organs--like xylophones, horns, drums and castanets (to name just a few of the bells and whistles). At the start of the show, Bill sits down at the Wurlitzer and gives a brief explanation of the movies for the evening. Then he turns around and begins to play. The brocade curtain rises and the inner workings of the Mighty Wurlitzer are revealed. It takes up a whole wall, and it is magnificent.

The show is in two parts. The first part is a mini concert, a film short and some musical surprises we wouldn't dare spoil for you. After a brief intermission comes the feature attraction. They play all kinds of golden age Hollywood movies, but if you go on a night when they are playing a silent movie, Bill plays the Wurlitzer for the whole thing. When someone knocks on a door, the Wurlitzer provides the knock. When a trumpet blows, it is the Wurlitzer. Raining? Wurlitzer. Not to mention the less obvious sounds of dawn, trouble, love, sorrow and joy. Who needs talking actors when you have this?

The theatre, itself, is charming. Golden grapes, cherubs, twinkle lights, chandeliers and a whole pack of RCA dogs adorn the stage. A little, red, Asian-inspired village covers the gong, which also sets off a lightning flash whenever it sounds. All concessions are $1. Really. They've got this nostalgia thing down.

Tip: As much as we love old movie musicals, we recommend you pick a night in which the feature is silent. You will get the opening Wurlitzer concert either way, but it's such a treat to hear Bill play a whole movie.