Utah Symphony’s Casablanca in Concert is a Great Escape

By Jennifer Mustoe

You’ve never seen Casablanca until you see it with all its eerie relevance, projected on a huge screen at Abravanel Hall while Utah Symphony‘s musicians are playing all the music for the film. The drama of the movie is often surpassed by the realization that real people are playing all the music. As my companion for the evening whispered to me, “You forget they’re playing.”

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A quick rundown of Casablanca–the film stars Humphrey Bogart as Rick and Ingrid Berman as Ilsa and their impossible love story has torn our hearts since it was released in 1942. I saw the movie years ago when videos were rented from a store. I thought it was sad and sweet and I could see why it had stood the test of time. But what struck me most this time around is:

• Casablanca is funny. There are lots of great jokes and asides and situations that make us laugh. Sitting in one’s living room by oneself doesn’t always generate that many laughs. Sitting in a huge concert hall (which looked pretty full to me) with everyone very focused on the experience creates a perfect opportunity for the laughs to flow.
• Casablanca is relevant because it is the story of displaced persons trying to escape tyranny. We see our present world exploding with victims fleeing from danger. We see in this film the sacrifices many make to find a safer life. We see that now, if we’re willing to look.
• Casablanca shows how far we have come, and how far we haven’t come, with the #MeToo movement. The wily Prefect of Police
  Renault (Claude Rains) has a system of gaining favors to “help” beautiful women get their papers so they can leave Casablanca. All see it happening and nobody stops him. This crushed me during this viewing, and I don’t remember even noticing it with any real surprise when I saw it years ago.
• Casablanca is classy, tasteful, and understated. Compared to current movies, this part romance, part drama, part thriller has no car chases, not a hint of profanity or nudity, and its violence is almost G-rated by today’s standards. A movie can be made without a bunch of PG-13- and R-rated material? Apparently it can.
• Casablanca has gorgeous music (Max Steiner), which is highlighted in tonight’s performance because our talented Utah Symphony plays every beautiful note. When I watch movies, I often get so caught up in the story, I sometimes forget the music. But it is fun to watch actual musicians play every single piece. I thought of the musicians who might have played this score all those years ago for the movie and it made me feel a connection to them I’d never thought of before.

Casablanca at Utah Symphony is wonderful, but the film itself is almost two hours and there’s an intermission, so unless your kids can sit and watch a movie for that long, I’d leave them home and bring teens and up. This Movies in Concert program that Utah Symphony has is just great and I recommend you come on Saturday night and see Casablanca. It is really a wonderful experience. And coming soon for Zions Bank Films in Concert Series are Star Wars: A New Hope in early and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire™ in June.

Utah Symphony presents Casablanca in Concert
Abravanel Hall, 123 W S Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
March 1-2, 2019 7:00 PM
Tickets: $15-$91
Contact: 801-533-6683
Utah Symphony Facebook Page
Casablanca in Concert Facebook Event