How often do you go out to see a movie and the audience not only sits through the entire set of end-credits but also enthusiastically stands, cheers, and applauds?
Well, when the film is a classic like E.T. and the score is played live by a talented group of musicians like the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, the answer is “Quite often!”
And that’s exactly what happened on Sunday, June 3, 2018, when the members of New Jersey’s gem of an orchestra — the NJSO — took the stage at New Brunswick, NJ’s State Theatre and presented E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial in Concert with the NJSO.
Before the 3pm matinee starts — and while members of the NJSO are already onstage warming up their respective instruments — we chat with several audience members already seated in the historic theater’s auditorium to ask them if they’ve ever experienced a movie screening which is accompanied by a soundtrack played by a living, breathing orchestra.
First, we talk to Lauren, a mom from Kenilworth, who is here with her son, Dane.
Explains Lauren, “I’d never heard of an orchestra playing the music to a movie so, at first, I didn’t get it!” but when friends offered her tickets, she decided to give it a try, revealing, “I remember E.T., the movie, from when I was a kid and I wanted to share something from my childhood with my son.”
When asked why he’s here today, Dane, 7 — who’s seen the movie before — says, “E.T. is funny — I like his voice!”
We also chat with Sue and Peter from Skillman, here this afternoon with their daughter, Josephina, 12, and her friend.
Says Sue, “We’re here to celebrate our daughter’s 12th birthday,” before Peter — a music teacher — comments, “It will be interesting this afternoon to see how the music aligns with the screening of the picture.”
Although the birthday girl, Josephina — who tells us she plays trombone, ukulele, and guitar — expresses that she’s looking forward to experiencing the film and live orchestra combination today, her friend, Valerie, 12, shares with us her concern that such a large group of musicians playing on the stage “might be too loud and make it hard to understand the dialogue.”
Lastly, we chat with Ron from Lawrenceville — a self-described “John Williams fan” — who has not only seen films from the Harry Potter series and Raiders of the Lost Ark performed with live symphonies, but has also seen John Williams conduct orchestras in person, as well.
Declares Ron, “There’s nothing like the ambiance, presence, and richness of a production like this!”
Acknowledging he’d just finished listening to John Williams’ soundtrack to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial in his car, Ron adds, “Listening to orchestral music in concert makes a difference — it’s an experience,” before adding, “and I wanted to be here today to support the orchestra.”
The lights dim, and as concertmaster Eric Wyrick begins to tune the orchestra, a cacophony of sounds immediately fills the theater.
Conductor Constantine Kitsopoulis takes the stage, bows, and inserts an earpiece into his ear as the film’s title, E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, flashes on the huge screen above the orchestra. Looking at a monitor — which displays the onscreen action along with rolling bars and flashing lights — along with his printed orchestral score, Kitsopoulis begins to conduct the NJSO.
Stars appear overhead on the screen as the orchestra’s music comes to life before this audience’s eyes and ears. Sounding crystal clear and perfectly balanced in this pristine listening environment, John Williams’ score, as played by the NJSO, becomes a central character in today’s presentation of the classic Steven Spielberg film.
The live music adds to the dramatic effect in the sweeping scene where the audience is first introduced to the spaceship which carries E.T. to earth. Later, the delightful sound of a live harp serenades the audience as E.T. and Elliot — the boy who discovers E.T. in his California backyard — communicate by miming each other before orchestral music lulls them both to sleep.
The score sparkles when E.T. creates a solar system out of balls to show Elliot and his siblings where he’s from, and it heightens the comedy during the Halloween scene when the youngsters dress E.T. as a ghost in order to smuggle him out of the house.
Most impressively, however, the live soundtrack soars in the scene where Elliot and E.T. first fly over the treetops on Elliot’s bicycle — the music majestic and sweeping — and it concludes perfectly as an “Intermission” sign appears on the screen and the musicians rise to rousing applause.
Immediately after intermission, Katsopoulis and the various sections of the NJSO are featured as they perform several of the film’s leitmotifs without any onscreen action before the film once again resumes.
During the movie’s second half, the orchestra plays a dramatic overture for the arrival of the scientists who’ve been tracking E.T., but the music becomes light and airy when E.T. is trying to create his message to send home.
The percussion section is featured when the spacemen-clad scientists march into Elliot’s neighborhood and bubblewrap his house to encapsulate it, but the strings gently underscore a tender scene where Elliot talks to a dying E.T. one last time to tell him he loves him.
The orchestra swells with music that elicits cheers and applause from the crowd as Elliot and his friends fly through the sky on their bikes with E.T. who, we learn, is still very much alive! Blaring trumpets and crashing cymbals call in triumph as E.T. and boys reach the forest before the mother ship slowly lands and E.T’s heart glows, beating in time to the music.
Audience members can be seen wiping back tears during the dramatic goodbye scene where E.T. tells Elliot, “I’ll be right here,” touching his forehead and slowly climbing the ramp to his spaceship before it takes off with a dynamic flourish.
As the credits roll, the orchestra continues to play the end-credits music, the glorious sounds of the orchestra wafting and dancing over the audience as Maestro Katsopoulus and the NJSO recreate the inspired themes of John Williams. The crowd rises to its feet in appreciation for this fabulous orchestra as soloists and sections stand to audience whistles, cheers, and applause!
As we make our way out of the historic State Theater auditorium, first, we catch up with Lauren and her son, Dane, who share their opinions about today’s experience with us.
States Dane, “I liked the music and watching the musicians!” Mom Lauren adds, “With the live orchestra, the music is not so much in the background, but more ‘in your face,’” before exclaiming, “It was so good, we want to come back to see Star Wars In Concert!”
Next, we chat with the birthday girl, Josephina, along with her parents and her friend, Valerie.
Comments Josephina, “I enjoyed watching the orchestra. When they stopped playing, I noticed the musicians were watching the movie, too,” before calling today’s concert “a different way to experience an orchestra.”
Josephina’s dad, Peter, says, “As a music teacher, I can appreciate how important timing is to a production like this. I could see the conductor’s screen with the rolling bars and flashing lights and understand how important it was for the conductor to precisely follow it. Most people probably don’t realize how subtle a process this is or even how much the music adds to the overall experience,” noting, “but it was done so well, that, at times, you forgot that a live orchestra was playing.”
Mom Sue agrees, adding, “It was so well done and, also, such a great way to get kids involved in hearing an orchestra.”
Lastly, Josephina’s friend, Valerie, exclaims, “The live orchestra was so cool! And even though I thought the orchestra might be too loud, I could hear everything perfectly.”
We also catch up with Ron, the self-described John Williams fan, who comments, “Today’s performance was as good as I expected it to be! John Williams’ music is amazing and the emotional connection to it is so much more powerful when you hear the live orchestra playing it as you watch the film,” before going on to confess, “And I always promise myself not to cry at the end, but I always do.”
Sara from Ewing concurs, stating, “The live music dramatically adds to the emotion of the picture. I liken it to the silent movies where you had an organist playing along with the film. Today, the suspense at the beginning of the movie where the action is slow and mysterious was heightened, but I also felt chills when the bikes took flight to the orchestra’s performance!”
Lastly, we chat Paul and Lori, from Flemington, here with their daughter, Bianca.
Says Bianca, 14, a flute and piccolo player, “The orchestra was amazing! Seeing it in sync with the movie was just beautiful. The whole experience of live music gave me the chills,” adding, “I also loved the sense of community I felt here created by the live musicians and the audience.”
Dad Paul remarks, “The pure emotion of the performance goes right to your heart! You forget how incredible the live orchestra is — that there are 70 musicians right in front of you who are playing. It’s seamless — and, as a result, you’re taken away.”
Bianca’s mom, Lori, concurs, stating, “We love seeing all sorts of live performances — Broadway, orchestras, operas — and this was amazing,” before she concludes, “It was absolutely wonderful — simple and perfect!”
To learn more about the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, please go to njsymphony.org. To find out more about future upcoming performances at New Brunswick’s State Theatre — including Star Wars: A New Hope In Concert with the NJSO on November 25, 2018, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back in Concert with the NJSO on January 6, 2019, and Mary Poppins in Concert with the NJSO on April 14, 2019 — please go to stnj.org.
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