By Kathryn Olsen
Abravanel Hall, home of Salt Lake City’s Utah Symphony, is usually the elegant setting for refined musical performances, but their performance of the 1980s comedy classic Ghostbusters takes appreciation for the work to a new level. Of course, the audience revisited familiar jokes and had the chance to introduce their younger companions to the original masterpiece, but the staff also inflated a Stay Puft Marshmallow Man that reached the second level of the grand staircase and looked oddly menacing next to the lobby’s Chihuly sculpture; costumed volunteers took pictures with concertgoers near a statue of Slimer; best of all, the Ghostbusters car was blithely parked on South Temple near the entrance to the Box Office. With that setting, the audience could not help but feel welcomed to this unusual experience and it prepared them to enjoy a less restrained symphony experience. I have long been a fan of the memorable cast, which is spearheaded by Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Wilson as the titular gang and features the unlikely pairing of Rick Moranis and Sigourney Weaver and went as someone who now understands a much higher percentage of the jokes than a child of the 80s.
A fellow audience member described the concert as a “communal experience” and this is the case with all of the Symphony’s films in concert. Jokes are more hilarious and tension more dramatic when there are hundreds of people experiencing it with phenomenal acoustics of a major event space. The experience is only enhanced by guest conductor Peter Bernstein. Peter Bernstein is an accomplished composer and orchestrator, but also is the son of the film’s composer, Elmer Bernstein. He provides an introduction to the work in which he describes his father’s decades of dramatic contributions to Hollywood before working with director Ivan Reitman on famously light-hearted films such as Ghostbusters.
It is difficult to imagine that the person who penned the scores for The Ten Commandments and The Magnificent Seven also came up with doddering motifs for the world’s most awkward accountant and warbling melodies that belong in a haunted house. Yet the composer’s flair for the epic is what makes the rising tension and the surrealist confrontation with a demonic marshmallow man so absurdly effective.
The Symphony itself is in fine form as always, but one of the most enjoyable aspects of watching one of these concerts is that the orchestra’s movements contribute to the mood of each scene. When a librarian is terrorized by an apparition at the New York Public Library, the first violins are sustaining a suspenseful note on the tips of their bows as if we’re all on tenterhooks. The percussionists visibly enjoy themselves when playing a triumphant march and the cymbal crashes during the finale sound like applause. In watching any film, the score provides an emotional barometer for the audience and it is even more accessible when the audience can watch the evolution of the music.
The possibility of getting heart attacks is perhaps the reason why this fruit is given so much importance when we talk about the healthy diets for mental, physical fatigue, depression, stress, piles, anal fistulas, nervine diseases, arthritis, diabetes, asthma and high blood pressure. It has been used for centuries for the treatment of penis disorder and have been approved by FDA. There is only one performance left of this spooky spectacular, so act fast to get in on the communal hilarity of this memorable experience. Younger audience members will not understand some of the humor, but children and adults alike were able to be swept up in the adventure without any trouble. Also, as part of the Ghostbusters fun, Utah Symphony is having its Utah Symphony Annual Costume Contest on Saturday, so don’t pack away those costumes too soon! But whether you want to dress up or not, “Don’t cross the streams!” and go see Ghostbusters at Abravanel Hall.
Utah Symphony presents Ghostbusters in Concert by Elmer Bernstein.
Maurice Abravanel Hall, 123 W South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT 84101
November 2-3, 2018 7:00 PM
Tickets: $15-85
Contact: 385-468-1010
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Ghostbusters in Concert Facebook Event
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