The show was pretty good! There's nothing quite like Stars Wars music being performed by an orchestra of 50+ musicians accompanied by a choir of at least 40 people.
The lights go out. To everyone's delight, the orchestra starts off by playing the
Fox Fanfare. I have to say I would have been disappointed had they not. There's just something nostalgic about it. It gives me shivers almost every time I hear it.
Anthony Daniels then walks in, talks about Star Wars. We chuckle at his C-3P0 impressions. You have to wonder what the man is thinking. Does he think: "Man I hate my life, but hey, it pays the bills". Or does he do it because he enjoys it. I'm guessing it's the latter but who knows. Anthony's normal voice doesn't sound much like C-3P0's. To play the droid, he makes his voice higher. It's also modulated in the movies.
The remainder of the show consists of Anthony Daniels narrating the Star Wars movies from Episode 1 through Episode 6. At certain points in the story he will stop his narration to let the orchestra play. The narration is very general since it's only a two hour show, most of which is taken up by the orchestra. That being said, you still get a good feel for the story for all six movies
Lighting effects were also effectively used. The stage would be splashed in a specific colour, depending on the theme of the song. E.G., Tatooine = Yellow, Yoda = Green, etc. Nothing really flashy, but it really adds to the atmosphere
The orchestra was conducted by
Erich Kunzel. He will also be conducting a repeat of the Star Wars concert in Cincinnati next week. I have to say that the
Cincinnati version looks a lot more fun with lightsaber battles and aerial stunts. Although there's a bit of trade-off with the narrator I guess. Instead of Anthony Daniels they have
Daniel Logan who plays the young
Boba Fett in Episode II.
Next time on Star Wars Concert Review: An overview of the songs that were played.
