Something about the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s performance at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ on this beautiful Sunday, June 4, 2017 afternoon seems a little different.

The first thing one notices is the line of kids with their parents, grandparents, and other extended family members waiting at the lobby concession stand to purchase freshly buttered popcorn, candy, and juice packs.

The second thing that attracts our attention is the large number of booster seats scattered throughout the elegant State Theatre auditorium.

Lastly, as we look towards the stage, we see an enormous movie screen looming above the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra members who are busily tuning their instruments and warming up to perform today’s selection of challenging musical pieces.

This afternoon, the State Theatre is not only presenting a NJSO concert filled with the music of Rossini and Wagner but, simultaneously, is also introducing this audience filled with young people to such guest stars as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, and the rest of the Looney Tunes gang in a 25th Anniversary presentation of Bugs Bunny at the Symphony!

Part concert/part movie, this afternoon’s performance promises to delight audience members of all ages both aurally and visually with the crystal clear sound of the live NJSO orchestra, along with the big-screen antics of some of the most beloved cartoon characters of all time.

As the packed crowd readies itself for today’s program, NJSO concertmaster Brennan Sweet enters to applause, and immediately smiles while displaying his Bugs Bunny tie to the audience.

Soon, the conductor for this afternoon’s performance, George Daugherty, enters to lively applause, and with the downbeat of his baton, he and the NJSO are off — the violins running along as the rest of the orchestra plays a walking beat to Smetana’s “Dance of the Comedians,” which many cartoon lovers in the audience instantly recognize as classic Looney Tunes chase music!

After hearty applause, Mr. Daugherty puts a pair of headphones over his ears and raises his baton as the screen overhead flashes the Warner Brothers’ logo. The live orchestra accompanies the iconic graphic featuring concentric circles surrounding the letters “WB” on the screen with the world-famous Loony Tunes theme music. The group performs with such stunning clarity and accuracy, they even include the well-known slide guitar introduction played live!

On the screen high above the orchestra, Bugs Bunny appears in a yellow tuxedo jacket as a great conductor, donning red glasses and choosing his baton — a pool cue complete with chalk.

In this animated short, Baton Bunny, the music follows the misadventures of the conducting Bugs creating chaos for his on-screen orchestra, complete with placing marshmallows at the ends of the cartoon stringed instrument bows. Eliciting belly laughs from the audience as the on-screen and live musicians play, Bugs bumps and bumbles through the story, ending with a bow and a smile from both Bugs on the screen and Maestro Daugherty on the State Theatre stage.

Next up is Show Biz Bugs, a hilarious Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck cartoon where Daffy complains about having to accept second billing to Bugs in a vaudeville production. Ever the showman, Daffy taps a soft shoe as the live NJSO orchestra — complete with live sound effects from the orchestra’s percussion section — expertly syncs up with the motion picture without missing a beat.

This gem is followed by another animated short, Rhapsody Rabbit, in which the talented NJSO musicians prove they can play anything as Bugs “performs” Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody №2” on the piano, while constantly being interrupted by an irascible mouse.

Following cheers and applause from the delighted crowd for this entertaining mini-masterpiece, conductor Daugherty takes a few moments to chat with the audience.

“I love this orchestra,” he says. “They are one of America’s best. I’ve performed all over the world, and there is no orchestra like this one — they can play anything.”

Going on to explain to the audience, “And you are in the perfect spot to hear this music,” Daugherty reveals that “in the 1930’s, these cartoons were played in theaters just like this one before the main movie.”

Talking about his past association with classical music and Warner Brothers’ cartoons, Daugherty reveals, “When I was young, on Saturday mornings, we watched these cartoons on TV sitting on orange or avocado green shag carpeting and eating big bowls of sugar-coated cereal with tons of gluten in it, like Sugar Pops. We didn’t realize, however, that we were getting cultural training listening to the great composers like Wagner, Rossini, Strauss, and Liszt.”

And by way of example, Daughtery and the orchestra go on to play pieces like Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” to accompany a Tom and Jerry cartoon and Smetana’s “The Bartered Bride” as the soundtrack to a Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote animated short. Then, they continue to entertain the crowd with such popular tunes as “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” and “Baby Face” in a series of cartoon segments starring stinky skunk Pepe Le Pew.

Wrapping up Act I is the classic Warner Brothers’ animated short, The Rabbit of Seville, based on Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville,” which concludes with the message, “That’s Intermission Folks!” projected on screen to rousing cheers from the audience.

During intermission, parents and children make their way down to the stage to take part in the NJSO’s “Ask the Orchestra” portion of the program. In this feature, audience members are encouraged to interact with musicians from the orchestra who demonstrate their instruments, discuss what it’s like to be a professional musician, and answer questions from the crowd.

While that’s taking place, we take a moment to chat with several members of the audience.

Sitting near us, we find three generations of music lovers: youngsters Aiden and Trinity from New Providence; their mother, Alison; and their grandmother, Marianne, from Freehold.

According to Aidan, 9, “this show is really good!”

Aidan tells us he’s seen Bugs Bunny cartoons before, but never with live instruments.

His little sister, Trinity, 5, tells us she likes the show, too.

Mom Allison says, “We love these concerts — they expose the children to great music. I grew up watching Bugs Bunny, and my mom took me to see Bugs Bunny on Broadway almost 25 years ago in New York City.”

Allison also goes on to reveal, “We saw the recent Fantasia show at NJPAC in Newark and enjoyed it so much we wanted to come see this one, too.”

We also take a moment to chat with Ryan, 13, from Monroe Township, and his mother, Heather.

Heather says she brought Ryan to the NJSO performance this afternoon to “expose him to professional musicians” because he has such a passion for music.

Ryan — who plays euphonium, trumpet, valve trombone, and piano — tells us he really enjoyed taking advantage of the NJSO’s “Ask the Orchestra” feature.

According to Ryan, he spoke with some of the professionals, revealing, “It was really interesting to ask questions and hear how long the musicians practice — two hours every day!”

And with regards to today’s NJSO’s Bugs Bunny at the Symphony program, Ryan exclaims, “I think the show is great!” His mom, Heather, agrees calling it “very enjoyable” and noting, too, how much she likes the way “the conductor tells his stories.”

And speaking of the maestro, at this moment, the lights dim, and Mr. Daugherty returns to the stage for Act II, where he explains why he and some of the orchestra members are wearing headphones today.

According to Daughtery, the musicians play to a “click track” — a sort of a metronome beat — which keeps the live music and the dialogue and sound effects which have been already been recorded on the film’s soundtrack in sync.

He also explains that there are many microphones placed near the orchestral instruments today so that the sound engineer in the theater can properly “mix” — or balance — the sound of the orchestra with the pre-recorded audio on the cartoon’s soundtrack.

Daugherty entertains the crowd by displaying a pair of Dollar Store kitchen “spatulas” which one of the NJSO’s percussionists happens to be playing today to make the live sound of Daffy Duck’s tap dancing feet. He also displays a 1930’s-era slide guitar — which he discloses was found at Warner Brothers studios in Hollywood and restored — to reproduce the iconic introductory sound to the famous Loony Tunes theme song.

Daugherty then treats the audience to the world premiere of two modern Warner Brothers’ cartoons, Rabid Rider and Coyote Falls. Created using state-of-the-art computer graphics, these two stunning 3D cartoons feature Road Runner being chased by Wile E. Coyote — one with Coyote even trailing him on a Segway!

Following avid applause, two classic Warner Brothers’ cartoons — Long-Haired Hare featuring music by Wager, Donizetti, and Rossini, and Robin Hood Daffy starring Daffy Duck — are screened, before the afternoon’s program ends with one of the greatest musical cartoons ever created.

Featuring the music from such Wagnerian classics as “The Flying Dutchman,” “Die Walkerie,” “Siegfried,” “Gotterdammererung,” and “Tannhauser,” Daughtery and the NJSO perform What’s Opera, Doc? In this brilliant tour de force, Elmer Fudd starts out by hunting “wabbits” in Viking get-up until he is enraptured by the lovely Bugs as Brundhilde, complete with yellow braids.

Ending with bravos and cheers from the standing crowd, Daugherty and the NJSO members take a series of well-deserved bows for an outstanding performance fit for this audience of all ages.

Following the show, we have an opportunity to chat with Guy, a musician from Mercerville, who tells us he grew up watching Loony Tunes cartoons.

Guy says that he’s not only impressed with the acoustics here at the State Theatre, which he calls “terrific,” but that he’s also impressed with the here-and-now presentation of the soundtrack, saying “there is so much more depth to the music when it’s played live.”

Explaining, “This is the first NJSO concert I’ve seen,” Guy reveals, “I can really relate to this music.”

Guy’s friend, Gayle, from New Hope, PA, echoes Guy’s thoughts. Adding her perspective as a graphic artist, Gayle declares, “I really appreciate the details of the cartoons — the way they used to hand-paint everything. It is prompting me to look up the history of animation.”

In addition, Gayle reveals she “enjoyed hearing the live orchestra” and informs us she’s also interested in learning more about a “summer series of concerts by the NJSO” starting the last week of June, many of which will be offered to the public free of charge.

We also get a chance to chat with another family at the State Theatre, here for today’s performance of Bugs Bunny at the Symphony.

Anthony, a father from Denville, brought his two children — Laura and Nicholas — to enjoy this live concert experience this afternoon.

According to Laura, 4, her favorite parts of the show did not only include Bugs Bunny, but also Road Runner — whom she tells us is “super fast” — because, as she explains, “Coyote always tries to catch the Road Runner, but he can never catch him.” She also likes the music which accompanies the action on screen, calling it “good.”

Laura’s brother, Nicholas, 7, likes Bugs Bunny and Road Runner, too, but acknowledges he also likes Pepe Le Pew. Revealing that his favorite part of the performance was The Barber of Seville, Nicholas particularly enjoyed the live orchestral music, especially when played by “the basses.”

Not only did the children have an opportunity to experience this production with their father, Anthony, but they also got to enjoy it with several other family members including their Great Uncle Anthony — “the funny one,” declares Laura — and their Great Aunt Rosanne from West Caldwell.

Roseann, a viola player with the South Orange Symphony, tells us that, growing up, she — along with her musically talented siblings — “enjoyed watching Loony Tunes cartoons,” also noting how grateful she is to be here “appreciating this classic music” with her extended family today.

Lastly, we have a chance to talk with one of the performers on stage this afternoon — Andrew Adelson, who plays oboe and English horn with the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra.

Exclaims Adelson, “This concert was super fun!”

Disclosing that he, too, watched Loony Tunes cartoons when he was a kid, Adelson confesses, “Whenever I hear that steel guitar, without even looking at the music, I know exactly when to come in.”

Calling it a real “challenge” for the NJSO to play the original Warner Brothers’ musical arrangements, Adelson reveals that whereas the original studio symphony orchestra that played this music would typically perfect a short segment, record it, and then move on to the next segment, he and the NJSO “had to play two hours of music in one live show.”

Although Adelson reveals that performing this music requires “a lot of concentration,” he still calls it “a totally fun” experience, concluding, “It’s a gas when you can hit it right in the pocket!”

For more information on the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra — including their upcoming series of summer concerts, several of which are free — please go to www.njsymphony.org/concerts. To learn more about upcoming performances at the State Theatre — including Boz Scaggs on July 15, Lyle Lovett and his Large Band on August 10, and Neil Sedaka on August 11 — please go to www.statetheatrenj.org.

Photo courtesy Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.