One of the most beloved films of all time, The Wizard of Oz, will delight audiences in Rockford in a magical new production.
The Rockford Symphony Orchestra conducted by Steven Larsen will perform the entire musical score live as the movie is viewed by the audience on the big screen on Saturday, Oct. 28, 7:30 p.m. at the Coronado Performing Arts Center.
The RSO plans to light up the Coronado green turning it into the Emerald City and encourages concert goers to dress as characters representing the Oz movie cast.
The Wizard of Oz was a technical marvel for the MGM studio in the late 1930s. Today, MGM has stunningly re-mastered this timeless classic.
The brilliantly restored images are accompanied by the RSO playing entirely new transcriptions of Harold Arlen’s brilliant lost scores.
Judy Garland’s original 1939 studio recordings, backed by lush, live orchestration, will transport children and adults alike.
The program premiered to sold out crowds at Wolf Trap and the Ravinia Festival. Claire Marie Blaustein of The Washington Post wrote, “It was an exciting evening, and the grander message of this event was truly something I found in my own back yard – the five children sitting next to me…who had never seen the movie before. They were as enraptured at their first sights of the Emerald City as I was seeing it with new eyes.”
Wizard of Oz with Orchestra is produced by John Goberman, Emmy-Award winning producer of Live from Lincoln Center, and the creator of the acclaimed A Symphonic Night at the Movies.
Tickets are available by available by calling 815-965-0049, in person at the Coronado or BMO Box offices or visiting www.rockfordsymphony.com.