Texarkana Gazette

‘La La Land,’ in live concert form is coming to the Hollywood Bowl

- By Mesfin Fekadu

NEW YORK—Live from Los Angeles, it’s “La La Land” live!

Lionsgate announced Monday that “La La Land In Concert: A Live-to-Film Celebratio­n” will come to the Hollywood Bowl on May 26-27. The live shows will be conducted by composer Justin Hurwitz, who won two Academy Awards last month for his work on the movie’s music.

The show will include a 100piece symphony orchestra, choir and jazz ensemble, along with the film’s original vocal recordings from Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone and John Legend. The movie will play along while the musicians perform.

Hurwitz said in an interview with The Associated Press that before working on “La La Land” with director and writer Damien Chazelle, he told his longtime friend that the film would be perfect for the live stage.

“The process is just beginning,” Hurwitz said of prepping for the live dates. “We’re figuring out how to handle visually and musically the various music elements in the movie, and it’s a lot of fun brainstorm­ing ideas and solutions. What is exciting is … to be able to really feature the musicians and show exactly what they’re doing.”

Tickets go on sale Friday. For the live shows, Hurwitz said they are using the same orchestra contractor from the movie.

Following the Memorial Day dates in Los Angeles, the live production will visit Atlanta; San Diego; San Antonio; Nashville, Tennessee; Washington, D.C.; and other U.S. cities. It will also travel internatio­nally to the United Kingdom, Mexico, Italy, Turkey, Switzerlan­d and Canada. Those dates, along with more cities, will be announced later.

“La La Land” won six Academy Awards, including best director for Chazelle and best actress for Stone. Hurwitz won best original score as well as best original song for “City of Stars,” shared with songwriter­s Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.

“There have been a couple times where I was in my apartment and I saw two Oscars sitting there (and) it almost took me a second to register what they were. The thought of those gorgeous, iconic statuettes sitting right there in my apartment is a bit surreal,” he said.

 ?? Associated Press ?? n This image released by Lionsgate shows Ryan Gosling, right, and Emma Stone in a scene from "La La Land."
Associated Press n This image released by Lionsgate shows Ryan Gosling, right, and Emma Stone in a scene from "La La Land."

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