The final chapter of the original trilogy got its well-deserved moment at The Theatre at Solaire on September 5 and 6, as Film Concerts PH closed out its Star Wars concert series with Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert. John Williams’ score came to life once more, performed by the Filharmonika Orchestra under Maestro Gerard Salonga.
The lobby, as always, was its own kind of celebration. Jedi, Sith, rebels, and droids wandered the halls in full costume, lightsabers in hand, and fans lined up for photos with the cosplayers before heading over to browse the merchandise table, stocked with various collectibles from across the saga.
After A New Hope and Empire, this felt like the experience everyone had been building toward. When the opening crawl hit the screen, and just like the previous two performances, I still got goosebumps the moment the Main Title started playing. Three shows in and that first swell of the score still gets me every time.
Watching the orchestra work through the Battle of Endor was a sequence you need to experience: the ground assault building tension right alongside the fleet engagement above the moon, with Lando and the others waiting on word that the shield was down. Seeing the score assembled live in that moment made scenes I already know by heart feel new again.
Cheers went up when Anakin Skywalker (played by Hayden Christensen) appeared on screen as a Force ghost beside Yoda and Obi-Wan, and Han and Leia’s scenes together landed just as big as they always do. The Ewok scenes got some of the biggest reactions from the younger fans in the crowd, delighted whenever the fluffy Endor moon inhabitants got up to their shenanigans on screen.
It was just as fun watching children in the crowd light up at the movie and music as it was watching longtime fans lose it over the familiar cues.
As the credits rolled and John Williams’ name appeared on screen, Maestro Salonga raised a fist in the air. It was a small gesture that said everything about what this music, and this legendary composer, means to the people who bring it to life on stage.
It’s hard to believe a saga that started in 1977 can still fill a theater with this much energy, but Return of the Jedi in Concert proved it hasn’t lost a bit of that magic. Here’s hoping it isn’t goodbye to the galaxy far, far away just yet.
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi in Concert is presented by Film Concerts PH.
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