Danny Elfman: Halloween at the Hollywood Bowl

Does Monday morning news get any cooler than this? This concert will be staged exactly 20 years after Oingo Boingo performed their last concert in Universal City, CA, on Oct. 31, 1995 (I know, I was there!)... I now officially have plans for Halloween night!

DANNY ELFMAN: HALLOWEEN AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL
"Tim Burton's THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS"

Performed by Danny Elfman

In Concert Live to Film

 Conductor John Mauceri with Full Orchestra & Choir

Plus Special Guest Artists

Los Angeles, CA - September 13, 2015 - THIS IS HALLOWEEN:  Los Angeles' reigning Pumpkin King, Danny Elfman, will take the concert stage at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday October 31 at 8:15pm  performing his role of Jack Skellington singing live to film for a very special screening of Disney's timeless holiday classic, "TIM BURTON'S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS"

 

Joining Elfman will be a cast of singers and Special Guest Artists performing the film's acclaimed songs live.  Conductor John Mauceri will be making his triumphant return to the Hollywood Bowl where he was the Founding Director of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and served for 15 years as Conductor, Principal Conductor and Director. Maestro Mauceri will conduct a full orchestra and choir performing the film's classic score and songs live to picture.

 

Not since Elfman's iconic Oingo Boingo Halloween concerts have his fans been offered such a holiday treat.

 

DANNY ELFMAN: HALLOWEEN AT THE HOLLYWOOD BOWL- "TIM BURTON'S THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS- IN CONCERT TO FILM" will transform this legendary venue into Halloween Town with special pre-show activities including an audience participation Costume Contest.   Tim Burton-inspired costumes are encouraged.

The concert is produced by Andrew Hewitt & Bill Silva Presents (www.billsilvapresents.com) and  Laura Engel & Richard Kraft of Kraft-Engel Management and Tim Fox & Alison Ahart Williams of Columbia Artists Management LLC.   

    

Danny Elfman composed the songs (music and lyrics), the score and was the original singing voice of Jack Skellington. 

 

First released in 1993, Tim Burton's THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS was directed by Henry Selick (JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH), and based on a story and characters by Tim Burton. The film follows the earnest-but-misguided adventures of Jack Skellington, Halloween Town's beloved Pumpkin King, as he attempts to take over the Christmas holiday. Against the advice of Sally, a lonely rag doll who has feelings for him, Jack enlists three mischievous trick-or-treaters - Lock, Shock, and Barrel - to help him kidnap Santa Claus. The film is rated "PG".

 

Tickets go on sale Friday, September 18 at noon.

Tickets available at all Ticketmaster outlets.  Via Phone (800) 745-3000 or Online atwww.Ticketmaster.com

 

All Acts and Ticket Prices Subject to Change without Notice.

 

Know Before You Go: www.hollywoodbowl.com/lease for parking information.

 

ABOUT DANNY ELFMAN

Over the last 30 years, four-time Oscar nominee Danny Elfman has established himself as one of the most versatile and accomplished film composers in the industry. Having begun his career as the lead singer of the band Oingo Boingo he has since  collaborated with such directors as Tim Burton, David O. Russell, Gus Van Sant, Sam Raimi, Paul Haggis, Ang Lee, Rob Marshall, Guillermo del Toro, Brian De Palma, and Peter Jackson. Beginning with his first score on Tim Burton's Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Elfman has scored a broad range of films, including: Milk (Oscar nominated), Good Will Hunting (Oscar nominated), Big Fish (Oscar nominated), Men in Black (Oscar nominated), Edward Scissorhands, Wanted, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Mission: Impossible, Planet of the Apes, A Simple Plan, To Die For, Spider-Man (1 & 2), Batman, Dolores Claiborne, Sommersby, Chicago, Dick Tracy, The Nightmare Before Christmas and Alice in Wonderland. Elfman's most recent work includes David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle, Fifty Shades of Grey, and Marvel Studios' blockbuster smash hitAvengers: Age of Ultron.    He was recently named a "Disney Legend"

Sights and Sounds: 'Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton' live

John Mauceri conducts Hollywood Symphony during a selection
from 'Planet of the Apes' at Nov. 2, 2014 concert in Anaheim.

It had been more than 19 years since I had seen Danny Elfman in concert before I caught the legendary singer-songwriter/composer at Honda Center in Anaheim on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014.
Indeed, as hard as it is to believe, it was on Halloween night (Oct. 31, 1995) when I was fortunate to cover Oingo Boingo's final performance at Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles. That show, which if memory serves me well, ran an amazing 3 hours and 40 minutes, WITHOUT an intermission. It remains one of the most amazing rock shows I've ever attended.

Danny Elfman, lower left, singing selection from
'Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas' at
Honda Center on Nov. 2, 2014.

Fast forward nearly two decades to Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton that was being staged at the Honda Center (the final stop that included shows at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1).
The program itself was very impressive with conductor John Mauceri leading the Hollywood Symphony and Page L.A. Choir through a two-part program in musical selections from many of Burton's most classic films. From the fun and spirited selections from Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and Mars Attacks to more romantic scores such as Big Fish, Planet of the Apes and Frankenweenie, it was a thrill to hear Elfman's film music performed live in front of a large audience that was eager to hear it. 
The highlight of the evening was the chance to see and hear Elfman in person. He performed the majority of songs from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas with a passion and zeal that befitted his engaging personality. Hearing his live performances of the wistful "Jack's Lament," jubilant "What's This?" and "Oogie Boogie Song" (the latter which he wrote but didn't sing in the film) was sheer joy. 

While Elfman will likely never reform the groundbreaking Oingo Boingo again, my suggestion is catch him next time he participates in a tribute to his film scores. That experience is a great one too.

Story and photo: Robert Kinsler