After severe storms earlier in the day, the night of Saturday April 5th in The Woodlands, Texas, was to be a splendid one, full of much cooler than normal weather, along with many unexpected surprises, not the least of which would come a few hours later when the University of Houston Cougars would upset Duke University to win the opportunity to play in the forthcoming college Basketball Championship game.
Meanwhile, at the mammoth Woodlands Pavilion amphitheater, the stage was set for the arrival of the Boston Pops orchestra and it’s concert performance of “STAR WARS: The Story in Music.”
Fans arriving for this free concert by the renowned orchestra knew what to expect musically when maestro, Keith Lockhart, raised the baton to conduct his superb musicians. There would be the lush, rich flow of beautiful music wrapping its arms around an appreciative audience. On this special night, washing over that audience would be wave after wave of the exquisite cinematic music from prolific film composer, John Williams, who wrote the scores for all nine Star Wars films being featured in this unique event celebrating the amazing franchise established by George Lucas.
Leading the proceedings from his conductor’s podium, Mr. Lockhart had all the grace of a ballet dancer as his fluid motions and gently widespread arms established a visibly intimate connection with the orchestra. Aiding him in this effort, as narrator for the program, was the uniquely talented actor, Jeremiah Kissel. His more than four decades performing with assorted theaters in the Boston area included work with the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. Seated on stage beside the orchestra, he would rise between selections to introduce the plot lines and characters musically described so vividly by Mr. Williams’ brilliant score.
Clearly a skilled actor with resounding voice and commanding stage presence, during each segment Kissel would remarkably transform himself, both vocally and visually, into the myriad of characters and situations described by each scene synopsis he delivered. His Shakespearean prowess was very much in evidence. Of course there would be the films’ usual suspects like Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Jabba the Hutt, Yoda and countless others. Kissel’s performance was especially appreciated by the many devoted Star Wars fans in the audience. Happily waving the complimentary “lightsabers” they had been given when entering the Pavilion, they knew every nuance of the subtle characterizations, action situations, and bits of “in-joke” humor being missed by those of us less familiar with the films.
Those touches of humor even extended to the music itself as in the comical merriment of the fun-filled outer space cocktail party fans may recall from the “Cantina Band” number in Episode IV: A New Hope. But none of that would matter as this majestic and powerful music transported us all away to this outer space world of intergalactic mystery. It would take us across the many generations included in this epic adventure that has been famously described as, “…a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” Here in our own world, it has continued to captivate movie goers for over four decades.
Readers desiring a sample of this wonderful music and some further Pavilion event information might enjoy visiting the two links below …
• https://youtu.be/2ynk0J_n9K4
• https://www.woodlandscenter.org/performing-arts
A member of both The Lambs Club Inc. and The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA), the columns of DAVID DOW BENTLEY III have appeared on Broadway websites, in newspapers from the East Coast to the Gulf Coast, and may be viewed online at the website: www.ThePeoplesCritic.com . E-mail may be directed to ThePeoplesCritic3@gmail.com.
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