LV PHIL

Las Vegas Philharmonic presents two screenings of the film CASABLANCA on Saturday, February 15^th featuring the orchestra performing the score live

2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m. screenings in Reynolds Hall at The Smith Center

Tickets $25, $46, $64 & $94 available from The Smith Center Box Office 702.749.2000 or lvphil.org 

            January 21, 2014 (Las Vegas, NV) – Time may go by, but the 1942 film ‘Casablanca’ endures as one of the most beloved cinema classics.  The Las Vegas Philharmonic will present two special screenings of ‘Casablanca’ on Saturday, February 15^th – Valentine’s weekend – featuring the full orchestra performing the score live on the Reynolds Hall stage at The Smith Center while the film plays on the big screen.  There will be a special matinee performance at 2:00 p.m. and also a 7:30 p.m. screening.  The concerts, which are part of the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s Pops Series, will be conducted by Francesco Lecce-Chong, associate conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra.

The film’s lush and lauded score by Max Steiner (Gone With the Wind, King Kong) was orchestrated by Hugo Friedhofer and adapted for this presentation by Patrick Russ.  ‘Casablanca’ was directed by Michael Curtiz and stars Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henried and features Claude Rains and Peter Lorre.  Set during World War II, the central character is Rick (Bogart), a man who must choose between his love for a woman (Bergman as Ilsa) and helping her Czech Resistance leader husband (Henreid as Victor Laszlo) escape the Moroccan city of Casablanca to continue his fight against the Nazis.  The Academy Award-winning film frequently ranks at the top of lists of the greatest films of all time.

For this presentation, Steiner’s score has been removed from the film but the dialogue and sound effects remain.  The orchestra performs the score live, following the conductor’s cues.  The film features one of the most famous pieces of cinematic music, the song As Time Goes By, which was not written by Steiner but by Herman Hupfeld.    Dooley Wilson’s performance (as Sam) in the film remains in this presentation, augmented by live strings.

The Las Vegas Philharmonic’s ‘Casablanca’ performances are part of its 2013-14 season themed “Love Your Las Vegas Philharmonic.”

Tickets

The Las Vegas Philharmonic offers $25 balcony seats at all of its concerts.  Seats in other sections are priced $46, $64 and $94.  Tickets are available from The Smith Center Box Office, phone 702.749.2000 or online from lvphil.org.  A 50% student discount is available