Title: Star Wars: in Concert
Tour Dates: 2009-2010
Reviewed by LadyAeryn.
I was fortunate enough to make it to two showings of Star Wars: In Concert (formerly titled Star Wars: A Musical Journey). Long story short: it was worth every penny, and every second of the 200-mile round trip I took to the first show.
The show consists of a more-or-less chronological selection of musical cues from the six movies, accompanied by a stunning laser light show, and matched to video montages from the movies played on a spectacular large traveling LCD screen. Each segment is opened by a narration from the man behind C-3PO himself, Anthony Daniels, and each cue is performed by a live traveling symphony orchestra.
The choice of music and narration is structured largely -- though not exclusively -- on the story of the Skywalker family, focusing on Anakin's rise, fall, and redemption, as well as the heroic journeys of his two children. Most of the montages and narration are straight off the Star Wars: A Musical Journey bonus DVD released with the Revenge of the Sith soundtrack. By and large the editing of footage to music is excellent, with only a few slightly jarring -- and downright odd -- exceptions.
Having seen most of the footage matched to the music/narration beforehand didn't deter from my enjoyment. There's something about a live performance that completely changes a musical listening experience, and Star Wars: In Concert is no exception to this. The performance by the orchestra is superb; the light show and seeing the footage on the giant screen is breathtaking. And Daniels remains enthusiastic, charismatic, and engaging throughout the entire show -- even tearing up slightly at a couple of intense moments of the narration. But perhaps the best thing about this show?
Well, aside from that it's Star Wars, it's a joy to be gathered in a single place with thousands of fans, especially the countless young children in The Clone Wars t-shirts and Leia costumes -- the future generation of Star Wars fans. One girl near me absolutely lit up every time Leia was mentioned, and during the "Imperial March" encore at the end of the show, I saw a young boy conducting enthusiastically with his mini-lightsaber souvenir keychain. It was an extremely positive audience experience at both shows I attended, with no heckling or jeering -- just people immersing themselves in their love for the saga, cheering their favorite characters, films, and moments. And there's no mistaking it, Star Wars: In Concert is a celebration of the whole saga - a beautifully rendered one.
At the time of this publishing, the tour has already completed its North American run and is off to western Europe with show dates extending into April 2010. If you are in position to catch a future show: see it. Barring that, pull out your Revenge of the Sith soundtrack, put the A Musical Journey DVD in your player, and crank up that stereo!
Future tour dates, as well as pictures and more information about the tour, are at starwarsinconcert.com.
