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Child Jedis, bounty hunters, droids and other miniature Star Wars characters waved glowing light sabers as they filed through the streets of uptown Charlotte on Saturday for Star Wars in Concert at Time Warner Cable Arena.
A few adults donned Princess Leia's cinnamon bun hair, but most of the costumed attendees looked like they hadn't changed since last Saturday. Instead of candy, they got a three-pronged concert experience that celebrated composer John Williams' music and George Lucas' films – as well as the film's costuming and props, which lined the walkways around the arena.
Thirty-two years after its debut, “Star Wars” still crosses generations. Fans from age 5 to 65 gathered around costumes on display of Yoda, C3-PO, Chewbacca, a frozen Han Solo and Darth Vader and snapped photos in front of backdrops like one of Luke Skywalker gazing into the horizon on Tatooine.
Iconic images like that (or Luke and Leia swinging Tarzan- and Jane-style through the belly of the Death Star; Darth Vader tossing an electrified Emperor into the ether) played out on a three-story LED screen as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, led by conductor Dirk Brosse, flawlessly revisited Williams' score.
A whooshing THX surround-sound signaled the start of the concert, and the crowd erupted as the orchestra dashed into the 20{+t}{+h} Century Fox music that introduces all their films. Oohs and ahhs greeted “long ago in a galaxy far far away…” as a montage of all six films rolled.
The voice of Darth Vader (presumably James Earl Jones) introduced actor Anthony Daniels (C3-PO), who served as host and storyteller linking the passages and montages with back-story and introductions. Instead of C3-PO's gold suit, he wore black with a gold vest and momentarily lapsed into character for laughs.
During the movies' most intense segments (such as the Chancellor's manipulation of Anakin and his subsequent flip to the dark side) it was easy to get swept up in the soaring space ships and light-saber battles on screen and forget about the fluttering woodwinds, bounding horns, and choir just feet below the action.
It was during more playful and slower numbers, like one dedicated to C3-PO and R2-D2 or Anakin and Padme's doomed romance, that the musicians came to life for the audience. You could see the smiles on individual bassists' faces as they bowed the “Imperial March” or bopped in their seats to the Cantina Band song. The latter expanded on Williams' original arrangement to the crowd's delight.
The score was often cleverly synched with the action. Tie fighters appeared to dance through the black sky as flutes and violins trilled on stage.
The production included smoke and flames bursting from the stage and a laser light show – green like the Jedis' light sabers. The second half of the two-hour concert focused on the original trilogy with Luke, Leia and Yoda figuring prominently and Darth Vader's redemption as its coda.
The way the scenes are arranged allowed a deeper appreciation not only of Williams' score but of the story's overall arc. Clues and foreshadowing in one film appeared right alongside the outcomes they dictated later in the story.
The music proved as timeless as the films. Of course, some children fell asleep, but most sat enrapt by the crashing symbols, tinkling triangle and looming bass that punctuated the orchestra's encore of Darth Vader's “Imperial March.”
“That's the only way it should be heard,” one man applauded. A young convert on his way up the steps echoed that sentiment: “I've never seen the movies, and I still liked it.”
