Open The Floodgates...and May The Force Be With You

The Nor'Easter is kicking our butts here on the East Coast and our office is closed today. I am sitting in Panera as I still have no internet connection in my new condo. My new condo, which might just be under water when I return. Who knows?

I thought I'd share with you one of the most awesome experiences I've ever had. This past weekend I brought my 75 year old mother, my sister and my niece (uber fan) to see Star Wars in Concert!  What the heck is Star Wars in Concert, you ask? It's just what it sounds like, except much better. Scenes from all six Star Wars films are projected on a gigantor screen while the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, along with a full choir, performs many of the key moments in John Williams' amazing soundtrack. Plus! Anthony Daniels, who played C-3PO in all six films, narrates the entire event.

Now, I knew my niece had a Princess Leia costume, which she wore last year on a college band trip to NYC, but I didn't know if she'd want to dress up for this event. I was up for anything, and to my great surprise, my sister had a whole stash of homemade Star Wars costumes that she'd made over the years for my niece and nephew. The four of us decided to go for it, not knowing (or caring) if we'd be the only ones in the entire arena nerdy enough to suit up in Star Wars gear. So, as it turned out, my niece would be Leia, I would be her mother, Queen Amidala, Mom would be my son and Leia's brother, Luke Skywalker, and my sister would be Luke's mentor, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who you may affectionately know as Old Ben. My niece was most excited to wear her newly purchased Princess Leia buns for the first time. I had to do a little convincing to get her to go for accuracy with the hair parted down the middle. Of course, she was glad she did it afterward.

Can I just say that we felt like actual Kings and Queens when we walked into that venue? We were a freaking hit. Everyone was asking to take our picture. Especially our Leia, who was pretty much a dead ringer, if only a bit on the tall side compared to the real Princess, played by the petite, Carrie Fisher. There were quite a few kids dressed up as mini Luke's and mini Darth Vaders, who all wanted pictures with us.

While getting swept up on all the fame and glory, the show was actually starting and we had to rush all the way around the arena to make it to our seats. And once we did, the magic of Star Wars happened. It was an amazing evening of lights and music and heartfelt narration. I was tearful at several points in the evening. Something about a live orchestra just does that to me, ever since I first saw my oldest brother playing upright bass in the high school orchestra.

If you have a chance to make it to this event, I suggest you do so. And it's best appreciated if you dress up, too. Oh, and afterward, they had a wonderful exhibit of Star Wars memorabilia that we, thankfully, quickly made our way through so as to get the requisite shots before being shooed away by the popo at closing.

Please check out all our fab pictures of us getting ready and receiving all the adulation at the event here at my niece's page and then read her own blog post about our evening: Are My Buns Straight? With a title like that, you know it has to be good.