A photograph by Javi Ortiz showing organist Dr. Steven Ball performing on the Mighty Wurlitzer Theatre Organ at the historic Tampa Theatre in Tampa, Florida, on March 13, 2021. Captured from behind in a wide-angle shot, Dr. Ball sits centered on the wooden organ bench facing the elaborate, curved horseshoe console of the organ, which features glowing red accent lights and multiple horseshoe ranks of colorful stop tabs and keys. Dr. Ball wears a dark grey suit jacket and glasses while playing, set on a dark stage against a dramatic black curtain backdrop flanked by ornate architectural columns.Dr. Steven Ball at Tampa Theatre in Tampa, Florida on March 13, 2021. Credit: Javi Ortiz/Zitrovision / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay

Land ho, and listen up.

The Tampa Theatre’s summer renovation is almost complete, but the venue is still showing movies. Not just in its own Taylor Screening Room, but on screens around the Bay area.

One special showing happens next month just down the street.

The no-cover presentation of the silent film “The Black Pirate” comes to the Sykes Chapel at the University of Tampa in celebration of the Gaspar’s Gold: Carnival and Community in a New South City exhibit on display in the Plant Museum just a few steps away.

Tampa Theater’s organist and a member of the University of Tampa’s music faculty, Dr. Steven Ball, will be performing a live original music score to accompany the silent film.

Sykes Chapel holds 260 seats for the free event with doors opening 30 minutes before showtime. 

“The Black Pirate” is a critically-acclaimed film known as one of the first to be shot entirely in color and for its star’s athleticism, Douglas Fairbanks, performing outrageous stunts. 

The pirate movie is a classic action and adventure tale of pirate looting, revenge for the protagonist’s father’s death and protecting the damsel in distress. 

There’s no cover for Tampa Theatre Presents: The Black Pirate (1926) happening Saturday, Aug. 8.

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This article appears in July 23 – 29, 2026.

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