Star Wars Is Coming To The Stage, I Am Beyond Despair
Friday 12th December, 3.57pm
What does Star Wars mean to you? Is it one of your fondest childhood memories? Do you remember the first time you saw R2-D2 and found his relationship with C3PO simply hilarious? Me too dear reader, me too.
Do you remember when you first heard that a new Star Wars was coming out? Do you remember the excitement, the anticipation, and then, once you’d actually seen it, the crushing, bitter disappointment?
I’m sorry to be the one to tell you this, but you’re about to experience that awful cold feeling again. Yes, that very same ungodly shiver that you felt the first time you saw Jar Jar Binks, the first time you heard the phrase “digitally re-mastered”.
Star Wars is coming to the stage.
I’m sorry, I really really am.
Star Wars: A Musical Journey opens at the O2 arena in London before going on a European tour. I know, it’s terrible, it’s an abomination, it’s worse than “midichlorians” but it’s happening and there is nothing you nor I can do to stop it.
Thankfully, the show is not going to be a musical in the traditional sense so we are going to be spared the nightmare of dancing Stormtroopers. Instead, Star Wars: A Musical Journey is going to be all six Star Wars films edited down to two hours accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with a bit of live narration thrown in for good measure.
Composer, John Williams and George Lucas’ company, Lucasfilm, are responsible for bringing this latest spinoff to the stage. John Williams wrote the original score for the Star Wars films and won an Academy Award for his efforts. Alas it seems he has been led astray by George Lucas and his unquenchable lust for sequels, prequels, merchandise and spinoffs, ’tis a dark day.
I don’t deny that Star Wars has an amazing score but does it really need editing and representing as a stage show with tickets that cost up to £100 a pop?! That said, a very interesting argument in favour of Star Wars: A Musical Journey was put forward by a friend of mine just this afternoon, it goes something like this;
“London Philharmonic, John Williams, anything they do is gold. I will watch with eyes closed if necessary.”
Maybe that’s the answer, we’ll ignore the edited two hour Star Wars thing, block out the live narration and just listen to the lovely lovely music. On the other hand, we could just buy the soundtrack, sit in a dark room and save £90.
I have to leave you now dear reader, I must find a dark corner to cry in.
