Shame on me for being slack and not getting these pictures and video up sooner. Free time has been a rare luxury lately. Now if you are not a huge Star Wars nut, then the trailer below might quench your curiosity without having to read my impression of the Charleston show.
The Star Wars in Concert traveling road show made a stop at the North Charleston Coliseum on November 6th, 2009. I made the two-hour trip down I-26 from Columbia since we were not lucky enough to get our own show. I was taken back by the large turnout and happy to be with my fellow fanboys/girls. I was not quite sure what to expect from the show. Were they going to show the major scenes in chronological order? Maybe some behind the scenes clips of John Williams creating the iconic soundtrack? Well the format they chose was to have ‘chapters’ showcasing all the big characters and themes. It was a very smart approach that Star Wars fans of any degree would thoroughly enjoy. Anthony Daniels (actor who played C-3PO in all six episodes) was entertaining and helped transition between ‘chapters’. The Royal London Philharmonic and Choir sounded amazing. I think if John Williams had his wish, the viewing of the films would be accompanied by a live symphony. There was a sound and feeling that no surround sound could recreate.
The show was split into two, one-hour segments. It was during the intermission that I was able to take a look at the costumes, props and archive footage. This was was the low point of the evening for me. After a few minutes, even with the crowd, I was through the “exhibit”. I guess the North Charleston Colosseum was not a large enough venue to house the enormous display setup in other cities [link to Flicker photoset]. So no life size X-Wing for us, but the second half of the show made us forget all about the size of the venue. They even played a little encore to makes us feel that we got our moneys worth. Oh yeah, the tickets ranged in price from $35, $75, $125 and more for the V.I.P. backstage passes. Out seats in the upper bowl were a good deal and had a great view of the gigantic HD screen. You can see our view in the video below.
In the end my dad and I had a great time. My dad, who is about as non-geeky as you can be, really enjoyed it. He has not seen the newer films so we debated whether he should watch all six episode in order of release or episode number. We decided that watching them in order of release would be the best. Although, he insists on waiting until they are all released on Blu-ray. I have created a monster! There are talks that the concert series was such a success that they will have a tour later in 2010. I highly recommend all Star Wars fans to go experiance this performance. No matter your age, gender or level of fan, you would be hard pressed to not have a great time.
Here are some pics of the props and costumes that were on display.
