When George Lucas was deciding on a type of music for Star Wars’ score in the 1970s, he made a wise decision. The director chose to ground it in a familiar style in order to help audiences relate to the futuristic images on the screen. To accomplish this he hired John Williams, based off a recommendation from fellow director Steven Spielberg. Williams provided the film with a Romantic backdrop of a scale on par with the galaxy-changing events of the film. When Star Wars hit theaters, the music instantly became classic, and it is to this day one of cinema’s most memorable scores.

Williams went on to score the rest of Lucas’s six-film story and never let audiences down. His involvement in all things Star Wars seemed to be over with the release of the final film, Revenge of the Sith. Then, at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, Lucasfilm announced Star Wars: In Concert, a succession of Star Wars themes played by a live symphony orchestra against a giant LED backdrop of clips from the films. It is a collage of Star Wars memories driven by an elegant arrangement of the series’ music. It is also a damn fun way to spend an evening with a few thousand fellow Star Wars fans.

The show is split into segments, each based on a musical theme. For the most part, the music ranges from nostalgic to dazzling. At the least, these themes provide a fun background against which to enjoy the scenes playing on the screen. At their best, the themes evoke a sense of adventure and Romance powerful enough to tell a story on their own. The asteroid field theme, from The Empire Strikes Back, is a prime example of this. Oscillating between fun and dramatic, this theme not only evokes the precariousness of navigating through an asteroid field but, on a broader level, the excitement of doing something daring. The Imperial march theme is another high point, evoking a relentless doomsday feeling in any context, an effect that is magnified by the visuals of Darth Vader and Imperial personnel. It is true that much of Star Wars is told through John Williams. During its peak moments, this concert proves that.

As the foremost aspect of the show, the music at times heightens Star Wars themes that may not have previously been granted their due appreciation. The struggle of Anakin and Padme to suppress their feelings for each other because of the restriction placed upon them by their political positions, for instance, was a major theme of Attack of the Clones. However, while that concept was clearly present in the film, the emotion of it was lost in some of the movie’s flaws. Here, though, the score perfectly evokes the feeling of a great building of emotion being restrained from blossoming into its full potential. When the orchestra plays this theme against scenes of their budding relationship, the compressed mixture of love and melancholy is more fully felt than ever. This intensifying of the film’s already-established story elements is a lofty accomplishment that the concert can only rarely achieve, but when it does, the effect is astounding.

This show is gorgeous.

There are one or two segments the show could have done without, such as an early one entitled “Droids!” The music here is comedic and jumpy and does little on its own. It works solely as an accompaniment to the on-screen antics of C-3PO and R2-D2, who we see bickering in silly arguments, getting stuck upside-down in sand, and occasionally becoming heroes of the day. However, even this portion of the concert is enjoyable, if primarily for its visuals, and it provides some lighthearted entertainment. Any other segments that lack the power of the majority of the show are also fun to watch and listen to just for the sake of revisiting those particular aspects of Star Wars. They just don’t work as standalone musical pieces like many of the other themes do. However, such segments are few and far between.

The visuals accompanying the music are beautiful. The video reel plays clips from all the Star Wars films, edited with little regard to chronology. It seeks primarily to serve the music, and it does this well. At the same time, seeing snippets of video separated from the story provides a way to appreciate just how great the Star Wars movies look. Presented on the huge LED screen, images such as a dark-robed Anakin riding his speeder against a red desert sunset are simply stunning. The show’s lights are equally beautiful, though a few instances of their brightness drowning out the film footage reveal why they are not used more heavily than they are. Still, when the lights do let loose, their brilliance is captivating. The downside to all of this is that, for those seeking a purely auditory experience, the visual stimulation can distract from the music. However, the show as a whole would not have been as fun without the video, and ultimately the visuals add more to the experience than they take from it. Even though this is specifically titled a concert, what it really is is an entertaining show with a primary, but not exclusive, focus on the music of this iconic series.

Conducted by Dirk Brosse, the orchestra is top-notch. Not a note is ever off, and the immediacy of the music surpasses that of its presence in the movies. The musicians can explode when they need to, such as in the opening blast that introduces each of the films (and also introduces this show), but they are equally capable of remaining quiet and subdued. The woodwind wisps and whistles of certain themes shine, and the heavier music, such as the marching theme, is as intimidating as ever. This is hands-down the best way to experience the music of Star Wars.

Anthony Daniels, the actor inside C-3PO, narrates the show, introducing each theme and its role in the Star Wars story. He gives a good performance, but it is just that – a performance. He speaks his lines not as if introducing elements of an awesome film series but as someone who is actually emotional about the history of the events being revisited. The result is slightly off-putting, as the show seems to be trying to convince us that we should care about what we are seeing instead of trusting that the films’ elements have spoken for themselves. This is no fault of Daniels’, however, and his charisma is beyond any already-high hopes concertgoers are likely to have. And here I thought he wasn’t programmed for storytelling.

A blaster prop at the pre-show exhibit.

Attendees to Star Wars in Concert also get another treat: an exhibit of Star Wars props and concept art in the venue lobby. It is well worth arriving as early as you can just to spend time checking out the displays of costumes, weapons, art, and videos of special effects processes. While the glass case items are very cool, the artwork is even more interesting. There are pieces like Wookiee concept art, a painting of the Death Star in an early stage of construction, and much more. The king of the exhibit, though, is an original, hand-written sheet of Williams’ music. Add in members of the 501st Legion walking around so that you can get your picture with stormtroopers or other characters, and you’ve got dangerous incentive to be late to your seat in the concert.

There are few film scores as legendary as that of Star Wars, and Star Wars: In Concert captures it perfectly, presenting its themes in a progression that showcases the music itself. You may occasionally gain a new appreciation for some of the musical themes, but more than anything you’ll have a good time listening to that which you already know you love while watching some of the series’ best scenes. At just around two hours (including a twenty-minute intermission), the show wraps up a bit quickly, but with the time spent checking out the items on exhibit, you’re more than likely to leave satisfied. This show has everything for the true Star Wars geek. If you think it sounds like something you would enjoy, chances are it is.