Star Wars Concert in Chicago

The Chicago Tribune has an article on the Star Wars concert playing there next week. The show is a traveling performance that mixes a symphony orchestra with stage effects and clips of the films.

An excerpt from the article:

The roughly two-hour show represents an unusual combination -- for many "Star Wars" fans, perhaps the first time they'll be seeing a symphony orchestra. But don't expect contemplative silence between movements. Every instrument will be amplified (a lot), and in addition to the lasers, you'll see flames and smoke -- the staging is so elaborate, it takes 12 semitrailer trucks to transport the show from city to city.

Belgium's Dirk Brosse will conduct an 86-piece orchestra (including some from the Boston Pops and the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra) and a 60-voice choir performing a "Star Wars" montage that Williams assembled and, in some cases, re-orchestrated.

As the orchestra plays and the choir sings, a giant high-definition LED screen will show clips from all six movies, the footage matched to the music. The footage unfolds in rough chronological order but also is organized around musical themes -- a little romance here, the rise of the dark side there.

For the first time, audiences will be able to see a fully digital Yoda in "Star Wars: Episode 1 -- The Phantom Menace," as Lucas recently excised the poorly executed Yoda puppet. Anthony Daniels, who lent his voice to the golden protocol droid C-3PO in all "Star Wars" movies, narrates the proceedings.

Read the full article here.