DIXFIELD — A comic icon of cinema’s early days will return to the big screen for one night only, as the Tuscan Opera House presents an evening of silent film comedy starring Charlie Chaplin. The show begins at 7 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 5, and will feature several Chaplin films, highlighted by “The Kid” (1921), his breakthrough feature-length comedy/drama. Live music will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist. Rapsis will also provide background on Chaplin’s career as well as introduce each film.

“There’s nothing like silent film comedy shown on the big screen with a live audience,” said Rapsis, who accompanies silent film screenings at venues around New England.

The program, organized by Dirigo High School students as a fund-raiser for the local historical society, is open to the public. Admission is $10 per person. The Dixfield program is a follow-up to well-received silent film shows held in recent years at the historic four-story opera house.

Chaplin was already the world’s most popular comedian and filmmaker when he produced “The Kid,” his first feature-length project. The movie, with its daring mix of intense drama and slapstick comedy, proved an instant sensation and marked one of the high points of Chaplin’s long career.

“The Kid” follows the story of a tramp (Chaplin) who attempts to raise an orphaned boy on his own. It includes several classic scenes, and is highlighted by a sequence in which Chaplin battles authorities attempting to return the child to an orphanage.

Co-starring with Chaplin in “The Kid” is five-year-old Jackie Coogan, who turned in what many critics rank as the best child performance of the entire silent film era. Chaplin himself worked closely with the young Coogan for more than a year to develop the youngster’s acting abilities.

“The Kid” will be preceded by two of Chaplin’s earlier short comedies that helped establish his worldwide popularity: “The Tramp” (1915) and “The Vagabond” (1916).

The Chaplin program at the Tuscan Opera House provides local audiences a chance to experience silent film as it was intended to be shown: on the big screen, in restored prints, with live music, and with an audience.

In creating music for silent films, Rapsis performs on a digital synthesizer that reproduces the texture of the full orchestra and creates a traditional “movie score” sound.

Dixfield’s Tuscan Opera House is an unusual four-story structure built in the late 19th century as a meeting house for the International Order of Odd Fellows.

Its original configuration included a kitchen and dining room in the basement, theater and dance hall on the ground floor, balcony and dressing rooms on the second floor, and the IOOF Lodge on the third floor, as well as attic space.

The building served as a cultural center for the Dixfield area for several generations, providing a venue for concerts, summer theater, town meetings, dances, motion picture shows and church services.

For more information and advance tickets, contact Dirigo High School teacher Kurt Rowley at 207-680-0113.