Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II,
Performed by the San Francisco Orchestra
Review (2015)
Remember the good old days when you could go to a theater and watch a silent film where the music was played live by a pianist or orchestra? No? Neither do I! Sadly that’s a part of history that is rarely experienced nowadays thanks to all of our technological advances. However, there is still one place where you can still enjoy a similar experience, the show Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II. The show has now been running for 25 years and consists of Looney Tunes cartoons played on a large screen while the orchestra plays the background music and special effects. In case you don’t know, the Tunes, in Looney Tunes is quite literal in meaning. Many of the most famous cartoons created by Chuck Jones and other great directors of the time, used classical music to great effect. Not only did their cartoons take place at concert halls and opera houses, but their music choices consisted of some of the most iconic pieces of music ever created. Bugs Bunny at the Symphony was a different experience from what you have come to expect from the San Francisco Orchestra. There is equal part celebration for the music, as well as the images on screen. It was a nostalgic trip for myself since I grew up on Bugs Bunny cartoons and thoroughly enjoyed every single short put before my eyes. Some of my favorites as a kid, including the “Long Haired Hare,” “What’s Opera Doc?” as well as the all time favorite “Rabbit of Seville” made their appearance at the show. It was nice to experience these cartoons played by a live orchestra, which as usual, was flawless. The experience of watching these cartoons with a few dozen people, laughing and enjoying the cartoons as much as I do was a great treat as well.
The only part I feel didn’t worked as well for the show was the parts where the orchestra wasn’t playing at all. Certain Daffy cartoons, or Pepe le Pew shorts were unaccompanied by the orchestra which did not fit the feel of the show. Another aspect I did not understand was why they chose to not showcase some of the original songs to further heighten the experience. One of my favorite shorts is “Rhapsody Rabbit” where Bugs plays the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 by Franz Liszt. That is an amazing, and beautiful work of art. It was fun to watch the cartoon and have the audience enjoy the orchestra along with it, however, if after the cartoon was over they would have played the actual song…well let’s just say this humble reviewer would have been blown away.
There is a lot of wasted potential with this show, and I understand it must take a lot of time and money to have the whole orchestra learn to play very difficult and old pieces of music. What we have to remember is that these pieces of music were not created by the artist just “getting by,” or thinking, “how can I please the most viewers while practicing the least amount of time, and using the least amount of money?” No, artists such as Franz Liszt pushed the envelope, went out of the comfort zone of their art and created amazing works that have survived for more than 100 years. The show was good, but not great, we paid $30 for top row seats, overall it seemed appropriate for the kind of show that it was. Will someone more than 100 years from now remember “Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II?” Probably not, but it was nice to share the experience of watching old Looney Tunes cartoons with a live audience and live orchestra.
I give the show a: 7/10.
Reviewed by: Edwin R.R.
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