The greatest science fiction film saga of all time came alive as never before on Thursday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. It was a great spectacle of sound, light, pyrotechnics, dramatics and blazing lightsabers. Star Wars: In Concert brought audiences, young and old, rookie and veteran, a multimedia concert experience that featured a traditional symphony orchestra blended with rock concert thematics and a three story tall HD LED screen. There was even a museum exhibit showcasing costumes and props from the films. As a lifelong fan of Star Wars, I simply had to be there! And for those that couldn’t, here’s what you missed.
I first heard about the performance Star Wars: In Concert from a recent PBS broadcast that was being featured during one of their trademark pledge drives. It was basically an exclusive look at behind the scenes of the making of the production, as well as interviews with producers and Anthony Daniels who has played C-3PO in all the films, and is the narrator of the concert. Well, five minutes into this PBS show and I was searching Ticketmaster. I found the Honda Center in Anaheim tickets available, and after discussing it with the wife, we made it an official plan. I was very excited to go, and excited to be going with just the boys. Dad was taking his boys to “the symphony” for a little culture. They were also very excited, as they had never envisioned anything like this before.
When we entered the arena we were greeted by a life size display of Jedi Master Kit Fisto from the prequel films. As we walked our way around the circular building’s lobby, we also were able to see Queen Amidala, Imperial officers, Plo Koon, Darth Vader and C-3PO. There were also blaster replicas and original artwork from the films. Each exhibit utilized a flat screen TV to describe it and show it in use within the films. The boys, especially my youngest were full of “whoa”s and “wow”s, especially when they got to take their picture with a costumed Anakin Skywalker, Princess Leia, and Obi Wan Kenobi holding a Yoda puppet. By this time though, the crowd had impacted the lobby making simple maneuvering difficult, and the boys were disappointment that we simply could not get through it to get pictures with a similarly costumed Darth Vader and Stormtrooper guard. We headed to our seats.
After entering into the arena itself, I was actually pleasantly surprised at the location of our seats in relation to the stage. Never having been to the Honda Center, I hadn’t realized that it wasn’t all that big, which meant for this show that there really weren’t bad seats. The stage itself was shrouded by a floor to ceiling multi segmented curtain, and the sound system was playing occasional movie sound effects. The announcement lighting flicker went off, the arena filled, and we got ready for the show to begin.
As the lights went out, the main theme of Star Wars blasted through the arena, to massive cheers and brandished lightsabers. The enormous curtain came apart revealing the stage where a full symphony orchestra played in front of a giant movie screen while lighting effects brought it all to life. As they played, the screen featured scenes from all the movies cut together to fit the music. They also showed close-ups of the orchestra members and the conductor, giving a glimpse into the artistry of the performance. After the opening overture, the amazing voice of James Earl Jones, who voiced Darth Vader himself, announced Anthony Daniels to be our storyteller and narrator for the evening.
I don’t wish to ruin the experience by giving a play by play of the entire concert, but I do want to review individual parts of the show as a whole.
Performance:
The Star Wars: In Concert orchestra was top notch. It was so easy to forget they were there at times while staring at the screen because they so accurately reproduced John Williams’s classic score. It sounded like the movie, but was unique enough to be a genuine performance. The sound was amplified through the arena sound system, which gave it that rock concert feel.
The different segments of the concert were arranged to tell the linear story of Star Wars, as well as focus on powerful and memorable themes. Anthony Daniels narration in between each segment was very dramatic and well rehearsed, but very much of himself. On his every mention of a popular character, the crowd would cheer, which he obviously enjoyed. This symphony orchestra performance was of the highest caliber, and did justice to the heart of this score. Though it was like a rock concert, it still maintained that traditional and cultural symphony feel.
The Visuals:
This three story tall LED screen is amazing! It’s like watching a high quality HDTV, only on giant scale. It doesn’t suffer from any of the negatives inherent in standard projector screens; brightness, contrast, graininess. This thing was bright and clear, and filled the arena with light. Hopefully this is the future of movie screens. To its sides there were supplemental screens, standard projector I think, that featured mostly scenes of the orchestra, but also supplemental movie scenes.
The stage lighting featured motion and laser effects, very rock concert like. It was well done though, helping to focus the tone of the musical theme, as well as frame the orchestra well. I must say though, that it often tended to wash out the screen by blinding you, which was distracting. Perhaps it was the angle of our seats, but that was a bit of a negative for me. There were the occasional pyrotechnic effects too; plumes of fire erupting around the stage, and jets of smoke. Lots of fun to watch.
Another big negative, at least for myself, seat angle likely a factor again, was this pervasive boom microphone. It stood up above the stage, directly in front of the screen. It was there in near center and came up half the height of the screen. Though not overly large, it was always in the way, and it was one of those things where once your eyes found it, it was very hard not to focus in on it. Probably my biggest complaint for the whole thing.
Final Thoughts:
The fan base that showed up was very diverse. All ages, all types. You had your die hard costumed fans, the ones wearing just a t-shirt, and those that looked more like theater goers. A testament to the broad cultural phenomenon that is Star Wars. This is a great event to use as a date, or a whole family event. Tickets were a little high at $85 and no discounts, but if you love Star Wars, it’s worth it. Star Wars: In Concert is an awesome spectacle that showcases the art of the films music and visuals in a unique and exciting way. Go see it! I’m serious, go!
