Article published November 26, 2009
'Star Wars' Extravaganza
Actor Anthony Daniels joins 86-piece orchestra, choir, super-screen on stage Tuesday
Luke Skywalker and C-3PO in a scene from ‘Star Wars,’ part of the Star Wars: In Concert show at the Lucas County Arena.
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2009 LUCASFILM LTD.
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By KIRK BAIRD
BLADE STAFF WRITER
For decades, John Williams has been Hollywood's go-to guy for majestic, soaring, soundtracks to thrill, frighten, stir, and captivate audiences.
What would Jaws be without its lumbering, primal dah-dah, dah-dah as a premonition of the carnage to come, or the Indiana Jones series without its rousing, adrenaline-pumping theme? The Man of Steel soared ever higher with Williams' thunderous introduction in Superman. And Harry Potter's main title is as magical as its namesake.
But of all Williams' iconic scores, Star Wars will be what defines the Oscar-winning composer's career.
That's the way it is for many of those involved in the sci-fi-fantasy saga, including British actor Anthony (pronounced ANT-O-NEE) Daniels, who, as fussy gold-plated droid, C-3P0, is the only actor to appear in all six Star Wars films.
For Daniels, 63, who first climbed into the rather awkward metallic C-3PO costume at age 29, and lends his voice to the droid in the ongoing animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network, Threepio has been the role of a lifetime.
"It has, and I haven't always been sure that's a good thing," Daniels said."At [one] point I wasn't allowed to be part of any publicity because George [Lucas] wanted to pretend that Threepio was a robot, so the human side of Threepio got very much left in the sidelines and in the wings, and I watched it all happening. I would see all sorts of things about the movie that never once mentioned my name. And that was pretty difficult; I worked pretty hard on those films."
Daniels will be in Toledo to narrate Star Wars: In Concert, a multimedia, symphonic extravaganza scheduled at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Lucas County Arena.
The actor will be joined on stage by an 86-piece orchestra and up to 100 singers from the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra and Choir from London to perform music from all six of Williams' Star Wars scores, which will be
accompanied by specially edited footage from the films displayed on a three-story-tall, high-definition LED super-screen.
"The way we tell it in Star Wars: In Concert is really very simplified and cut down to the elements of it. Because you can move forward and back in time on our huge screen, it's all edited so beautifully so that when Luke Skywalker receives his father's lightsaber from Obi-Wan Kenobi, you see on screen teenage Anakin wielding that lightsaber before he turns to the dark side," Daniels said. "That really does help me, at least, understand the story."
Star Wars: In Concert made its world premiere April 10 at the 02 Arena in London. The two-night event was so successful, a follow-up worldwide arena tour was launched on October 1 at Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif.
Accompanying the concert is an exclusive exhibit of Star Wars costumes, props, artifacts, production artwork and specially created behind-the-scenes videos from the Lucasfilm Archives.
Star Wars: In Concert may be a sensory event, but the point of the glossed-up performance is to honor Williams' music.
The legendary film composer wrote the music for all six movies, earned an Oscar in 1977 for his Star Wars score, and was nominated for The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi. Despite the peer accolades - Star Wars was honored in 2005 by American Film Institute as the most memorable film score of all time - the music often takes a backseat to the action, drama, and special effects that have made the film series so popular worldwide.
But the movies just wouldn't be the same without that familiar refrain, Daniels said.
"A lot of people wouldn't realize that because it's very easy when you see the film ... to accept the fact you feel sad in this scene, or you feel magnificent, or you feel forboding ... You don't always realize it's because of the music," he said. "Forget scenery. Forget the actors. Forget the words. You could almost watch Star Wars as a silent film and have John's music speak to you and tell you what is happening. His range of emotion is from the big, lumbering scary Darth Vader march, to the exquisitely piercing beauty of the Princess Leia theme. Often he has written a theme for each character, but then his music is a character in its own right. I've seen these films without music, and I'm sure George would be the first to recognize and admit that John's work is a mighty character within it.
"It's very easy to mistake film music for something that is not important. But John Williams' score for the Star Wars saga will last, I think, forever."
Tickets for Star Wars: In Concert at Lucas County Arena are $35, $55, and $75, and are available at Lucas County Arena box office and Ticketmaster by phone at 800-745-3000, all Ticketmaster outlets, and online at www.ticketmaster.com. For more information, call 419-321-5007.
Contact Kirk Baird at
kbaird@theblade.com
or 419-724-6734.
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