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Symphonic Star Wars

Detroit's Original Holiday Tradition
and Still Your Best Family Value!

December 3-6, 2009

Brought to life by
the Michigan Opera Theatre Orchestra
Carmon DeLeone, Conductor

Performances:

Thursday, December 3, at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, December 4, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 5, at 2:30 p.m.
Saturday, December 5, at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, December 6, at 2:30 p.m.

Anthony Daniels in front of the orchestra with C-3P0

Family matinees feattlre the following:

onscreen in a scene from Star Wars: In Concert

Star Wars: In Concert will be performed 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 28,
at the Palace of Auburn Hills. $35-$75. (248) 377-0100; palacenet.com .

For Tickets and Pre-paid Parking in the
Detroit Opera House Parking Center
Call 313.237.SING or visit michiganopera.org

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teve Cohen, director and
designer of Star Wars: In
Concert, once had to get
some help from the Israeli military to
stage a show in that country.
A troupe traveling from Europe
arrived in Israel missing its power
transformers, but the production was
saved when the army provided the
power distribution.
Nothing quite that dramatic is expect-
ed when the multimedia Star Wars crew
sets up for two appearances Saturday,
Nov. 28, at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
The show, featuring an 80-piece
symphony orchestra and choir,
presents music from all six of John
Williams' scores for the Star Wars
series while footage from the popu-
lar films is shown on a giant screen.
Anthony Daniels, the actor who por-
trayed C-3P0, appears as the live nar-
rator for the elaborate concert.
All the parts come together for a
unified, emotional response from the
audience says Cohen, 55, who also
developed productions for Billy Joel,
Elton John and Mariah Carey.
"The saga is pretty recognizable to
Star Wars fans and to people aware of
the story, but the delivery gives every-
body another understanding of the
vision of [Star Wars creator] George
Lucas."
The idea for this production came
after the release of music videos relat-
ed to the films.
"This is a big production because
you generally don't put classical music
in an arena setting',' explains Cohen,
who has been touring entertainers for

35 years. "Arenas usually are for sports
and rock 'n' roll shows.
"We've got a huge lighting rig with a
couple hundred moving instruments,
one of the largest high-definition LED
screens ever to be toured and corre-
sponding low-resolution LED curtains
that create the environment of the
planets."
Accompanying the musical presen-
tation will be a museum exhibit of
Star Wars costumes, props, artifacts,
artwork and behind-the-scenes vid-
eos. For the first time, pages from John
Williams' original handwritten sheet
music will be on view.
"There are great individual aspects
of the show, but the sum is greater
than the parts:' says the designer-
director, who has brought all of his
productions to the Detroit area.
Cohen, who had a Jewish upbring-
ing in California, started out working
with lighting and went on the road to
help with the staging of rock bands. He
developed as a set designer and show
director for a variety of concerts and
moved into television and film work.
"My career has a lot of tentacles,
and I get involved in all aspects of cre-
ative performance Cohen says.
As Cohen plans for future shows,
he envisions a time when the technol-
ogy is more environmentally friendly.
Whatever the technology, he still
stresses the basics of good stories,
dramatic arcs and creative performers
— all punctuated by strong music.
"I think there are so many people who
have never seen a symphonic perfor-
mance, mostly a lot of kids who are Star
Wars fans',' Cohen says. "This is a way
for them to get excited about classical
music and classical performance."

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Suzanne Chessler
Special to the Jewish News

* Professional face painting, $5 donation
* Santa and Nutcracker available for photos
* Live reindeer
* Sugar Plum Parade on stage following the performance
* Buffet lunch, $10, Call 313.237.SING for details

... ... • . - .
.

Multimedia
concert
presents
music from
all six films
in the series.

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Tickets at Fisher Theatre box office & all ticketmaster outlets • Ticketmaster.com • 80o-982-2787
Groups of 12+: 313-871-1132 or email GroupSales@NederlanderDetroit.com
Info: 313-872-100o • BROADWAY IN DETROIT.com • Wizard0f0zOnTour.com
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November 26• 2009

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