photo by Don Whiteside.

Earlier today you may have read my interview with David Iskra, the curator of the Star Wars: In Concert traveling props and costume exhibit. While it is not necessary to read that article, I do suggest reading it first for two reasons. One, this article is a review of the musical half of Star Wars: In Concert experience; all of our exhibit photos and most of the information about the traveling exhibit are contained in this morning’s post. Two, the prop exhibit greets the audience as they arrive for the concert and provides at least an hour of entertainment before the music even begins. To better put yourself in an attendee’s shoes, I suggest checking out our exhibit photos to get yourself ready for the adventure that lay ahead!

The original Star Wars trilogy is composed of three of the most beloved films of all time. The prequel trilogy that followed many years later is made up of three of the most divisive. Two common threads connect these six films and Star Wars: In Concert is an event designed to celebrate them. First and foremost, the event is about celebrating the brilliant music of composer John Williams; who scored all six films over a 30-year period. Even the most critical fan must acknowledge that Williams’ music is the most beautiful, artistic thing to come out of the prequel trilogy and that his themes from the original trilogy rank among the most memorable and effective film scoring of all time. Second, the event is about the lineage of characters that populate the six films and the human themes that they evoke in the viewer. Another Planet Touring created Star Wars: In Concert to celebrate John Williams’ music and to explore how it was as important in creating these characters as the writing and acting. It is a touring multimedia event unlike any other film music event I have ever attended. It was a great afternoon full of nostalgia, visual delight, and thrilling music.

photo by Don Whiteside.

Let me get the geek-factor out of the way before I begin. Of course there was an obvious geek element to this event. There were plenty of grown men in Jedi robes and Star Wars t-shirts wandering around reliving the glory of their Star Wars youths. The exhibit hall was full of them. None more dedicated than the members of the 501st Legion, a Lucas sanctioned fanclub, who make their own ultra-elaborate, film quality outfits. The 501st members were given permission to attend the tour dates in costume. These guys are the hard-core geeks and they were a hit with the families in attendance. The lines to get a picture with 501st Boba Fett or 501st Vader stretched through the coiled halls of the Verizon Center. I liken the 501st members to the guys you see at Civil War reenactments; their attention to detail and authenticity is the same, the principal difference being that their war happens to have been conjured up in the mind of George Lucas.

There is no denying the geek factor of an event like this, true. I feel to poke fun would be inappropriate though. The original Star Wars trilogy is a defining motion picture event for more than one generation of movie-goers and I think that most film fans would find it impossible to not geek-out a little when faced with the actual Chewbacca costume or Anthony Daniels bursting into C-3P0 dialogue that he made famous over 30 years ago. For me, it was seeing Frozen Han Solo. I was playing it pretty cool as I walked past original costume after costume, but when I rounded the corner to be faced with the original full-sized Frozen Han Solo prop, I felt a sort of mental hiccup as if what I was seeing couldn’t really be what I thought it was. Frozen Han Solo was so freaking cool. Total geek out moment. When Han was frozen at the end of Empire and then not thawed out; for my eight year-old imagination it was one of the most mind-blowing things ever! And you see, that’s how they hook you. The prop exhibit seemed to be designed to warm-up the Star Wars center of your brain so that by the time you sat down for the concert, you were already having day-dreams of that galaxy far, far, away.

photo by Don Whiteside.

The audience on Saturday afternoon was filled with a mix of families, a lot of cute little ones sporting all sorts of Star Wars gear and outfits alongside parents proud to be sharing the trilogies with their kids; groups and pairings of grown Star Wars fanatics; and an older, more dignified set of concert goers who seemed more suited for the Kennedy Center but were obviously eagerly anticipating hearing Williams’ music performed by a hand-picked full orchestra and choir. It was not long after taking our seats that conductor Lucas Richman and the Star Wars Orchestra & Choir took the stage.

I have been to my fair share of film music concerts, but I must say that I have never attended one that began with the THX test-tone blasting at full volume, followed by the 20th Century Fox theme performed by a live orchestra. This was a thrilling way to start things off and just as the goosebumps were settling, the orchestra launched into the Star Wars title theme and a medley to get the ball rolling. Rising from behind the impressively-sized orchestra, a massive three-story-tall, high-definition screen dominated the floor of the Verizon center and on it re-edited montages of footage from all six Star Wars films played along with the music. The combination of the iconic imagery on-screen, the beautifully lit orchestra and choir, and Williams bombastic music was truly breath-taking.

photo by Don Whiteside.

As soon as their oepning salvo was complete, the auditorium went dark, and was filled with Darth Vader’s infamous breathing. Vader’s voiced boomed from the P.A. as he introduced Anthony Daniels, the actor who portrayed C-3P0 in all six films. Daniels walked out onto the stage to thunderous applause and launched into scripted narration to set the stage for the concert’s first segment. Daniels narration retold a condensed version of the Star Wars films in chronological order. Before each segment of music he would introduce new characters, themes, and conflicts that were to be expressed in the next piece of Williams’ scoring. Daniels hammed the narration up quite a bit, which kept the hundreds (thousands?) of children enthralled. He even tossed in a few choice C-3P0 gags and a geek-tastic, spot-on 3-CP0 ‘odds of surviving an asteroid field’ mini-monologue.

photo by Don Whiteside.

The orchestra and choir brought the Williams’ arrangements to life brilliantly. Thanks to Richman’s precise timing as conductor, the music matched the video segments perfectly. My favorite audio/visual moment was watching a percussionist smash two huge cymbals together right as an asteroid clobbered a TIE Fighter on-screen. It was truly amazing to watch Williams’ frantic music being performed live. The entire orchestra was often playing at a madman’s pace; the massive string section sawing away, the horns blasting rapidly. It can not be easy to play pieces so intense that they quickened even the passive listener’s pulse.

One aspect of John Williams’ Star Wars scores that the concert did a great job of magnifying is the beauty in his music. It is easy to overlook this aspect of Williams as a composer, when it is his larger-than-life theme songs that he is famous for. Williams’ Anakin/Padme love theme and his Leia theme were performed so beautifully on Saturday that I actually got chills during both and I saw more than one grown woman crying during their performance. When they played the “I love you” – “I know” exchange between Leia and Han over Leia’s theme being performed it made your heart-ache. I was quite shocked to have such emotions stirred by this concert, it was not what I had expected at all.

photo by Don Whiteside.

What I did expect was to have my inner-child thrilled by Williams’ famous Star Wars adventure themes and Star Wars: In Concert provided moments like that in spades. When the choir kicked in over the orchestra during ‘Duel of Fates’ from “The Phantom Menace” it was one of the most satisfying orchestral moments I have ever experienced. Say what you will about prequel number one, but try to convince me ‘Duel of Fates’ is weak scoring, and we will have problems. Another great choir moment was during the segment called ‘A Hero Falls’ which depicted Anakin turning to the dark side of The Force. The choir and orchestra were completely on fire during this segment. So much so, that I kept shaking my head to remind myself that I was witnessing live performance and not a recording.

The highlight of the entire concert for me (and I am sure many, many others) was hearing Williams’ ‘The Imperial March‘ performed live. The collective theme of the Empire, Darth Vader, and the Emperor was used three times during the course of the concert. Once to close out the first half of the show (there was a 20-minute intermission), then again during a segment about Vader/Anakin ‘s redemption, and finally as the encore to the whole concert. This theme is right up there with the Star Wars theme itself as some of the most exciting and memorable film music of all time.

photo by Don Whiteside.

I can only speak for myself, but as a child ‘The Imperial March’ was probably the first piece of music to get me really excited about orchestral music. I recall air-conducting to a Star Wars soundtrack cassette as a kid. When I went through my unavoidable, “parents are forcing me to be in band” phase in sixth grade, I remember the one piece of music I was really excited about learning to play on my saxophone was ‘The Imperial March’. I even went to a music store and bought a themes of Star Wars sheet music book for myself. I still remember what it looked like, it had a big blue light-saber blade on a black-starred background on the cover.

Hearing ‘The Imperial March’ performed by the Star Wars orchestra was a music high-point of my life. After Anthony Daniels teased us into the encore, I sat back to listen to this piece that has stuck with me for so many years. It was a surreal moment, as my mind was reeling at the awesomeness of its performance, I looked over at a child of about seven, sitting two seat to my left, and saw him air-conducting to ‘The Imperial March’ while his father (probably a huge fan himself) smiled a grin from ear to ear.

Star Wars: In Concert was was a fantastic afternoon of entertainment. With the rare items in the prop/costume exhibit, the terrific musical performances, and its dazzling visual elements this is one very special event for both Star Wars fans and lovers of great film music everywhere.

photo by Don Whiteside.

Michael Darpino

Michael splits his free time between defending the little guy and championing the underdog. He has been haunting the concert halls, dive bars, and greasy spoons of DC for the last 16 years. His interests include live rock music, researching obscure military/political conflicts, and good hamburgers. He is a friendly grump, has wisdom beyond his years, and is on a life-long quest to attain music nirvana. Follow him on Twitter if you dare!