It wasn’t all glamor, being a small-time performer in the Star Wars in Concert extravaganza. In the San Diego arena, 10,000+ people were taking seats for the show. Here we are hanging around in a tacky room alongside a group shower room. Later, though, there was pizza. Good pizza!
The charming, elegant narrator of the show, actor Anthony Daniels (aka C3P0) dropped by to let us know what to expect during the performance, which was a great help. He also noted that the chorus, garbed in black, represented the Dark Side of the Force. We were eeeevil. What’s more, we enjoyed being eeevil. Our wicked power and glee should resonate when we sang. And so it did.
During the sound check, we got more advice from the friendly percussion guys. “Sing loud!” they told us. And so we did. They also told us we’d be amazed at the response from the audience. And after months on the road with this show, they oughta know. Here we are backstage, waiting to go on.
Finally we seated ourselves behind the orchestra as the audience continued to file in. A late start, to allow for everyone to be seated. 
At last the house lights dimmed, and the crowd roared approval. The conductor took his place, and another blast of sound from the audience. Clearly they’d come to enjoy themselves. They cheered the famous opening of the Star Wars theme and then settled back to take in every sight on the screen and every sound from the musicians. Lots of them had light sabers that flashed every now and again. Many were in costume.
Our theatrical “Korah! Matah!” performance concluded to wild cheering and applause. Only the space shuttle taking off makes more noise than Star Wars in Concert fans. Every set piece in the concert elicited the most remarkable response I’ve ever seen and heard from an audience. They were dead silent during the narration and music, though, not wanting to miss a word or a note or a flicker on the screen. I loved every member of that crowd.
The chorale sang only during the first half of the show, so at intermission, a pal and I set out for the costume and props exhibition where I was to meet up with my date for the evening. Along the way, we noted that much of the audience was made up of families, many of them with young children. Those in costume were happy to pose with fellow SW fans.
Finally I arrived at my destination, where my date had taken care to protect himself from the hordes of swarming females.
No, I don’t mean Darth Vader. The Dark Side is fine for an occasional drop-by, but a goodhearted gal like myself wants a tall man with plenty of hair and his own teeth. So here we are, me and Chewie the Wookiee, alone together at last.
But our rendezvous was brief. Soon, bypassing the stands selling Star Wars T-shirts for $35 (talk about your Dark Side!), we chorale members took seats in the audience to enjoy the second half of the performance. Here’s a picture of the stage from where we were sitting. 
And yes, we cheered and applauded right along with the rest of the audience. May the Force be with us all!
