Conductor knows serious fans won’t be sleeping for ‘Nightmare’

When Columbus Symphony principal pops conductor Stuart Chafetz first led an orchestra in accompaniment of Tim Burton’s 1993 movie “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” he was unprepared to encounter its passionate Stuart Chafetz

fan base.

“Quite honestly, it wasn’t my generation of what I would consider a movie that people would be excited about,” said Chafetz, who conducted the concert with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra.

“Well, I had no idea … what a cult classic it has become,” he said. “I went out there and the place was packed. We did maybe two or three performances, and people showed up as Jack the Pumpkin King, Sally, the Mayor, Lock, Shock and Barrel.”

On Saturday, when the Columbus Symphony accompanies a screening in the Ohio Theatre, central Who: Columbus Symphony

What: “The Nightmare Before Christmas” in concert

Where: Ohio Theatre,

39 E. State St.

Contact: 614-469-0939, www.columbussymphony. com; www.ticketmaster.com

Showtime: 8 p.m. Saturday

Tickets: $48 to $78

Ohio fans of the stop-motion animated movie can dress up as those or other characters. (Face paint is fine; however, masks are discouraged, CAPA spokeswoman Rolanda Copley said. If a mask is an essential part of a costume, it may be worn only after entering the theater.)

While the Pg-rated film is shown, the vocal tracks of the movie will be heard as the symphony performs the score by Danny Elfman.

Twenty-six years ago, “A Nightmare Before Christmas” — which was derived from a story and characters created by Burton — did good business at the box office, but in the years that followed, it accrued a devoted following.

In describing the enthusiasm for the film, Chafetz invokes the musical “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” late-night screenings of which often prompt audiences to play dress-up.

“I realized, ‘This is the new ‘Rocky Horror,’” Chafetz said. “People cheered, they roared and they were singing along.”

During the screening of “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” the audience is welcome to sing along, but the conductor will be focused on guiding the symphony in support of songs performed by various animated characters.

“There’s no room for wiggling when it comes to the soundtrack,” Chafetz said. “When Jack is singing, or when Sally is singing, you better darn (well) have that soundtrack lined up.”

Chafetz describes Elfman’s score as unusually sophisticated.

“This is next-level stuff,” he said. “There are lot of auxiliary instruments that he wrote for, like contras bass clarinet and contrabassoon. … When you hear the professor coming along and you hear that contrabass, it’s an unbelievable sound.”

Chafetz also praises the grace notes of the music.

“There are all these really funny, creepy sounds of the characters,” he said. “For some reason, those little tiny things just get me more than sort of the big, expected stuff. Just the subtleties — I just love it.”

Adding to the pressure placed on the musicians, Chafetz anticipates a high degree of audience familiarity with the score.

“Everyone who is a big Tim Burton fan knows this score cold,” he said. “When I did ‘Mary Poppins,’ it was the same kind of thing: Everybody knows ‘Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.’ You better get it right.”

“A Nightmare Before Christmas” is one of three movies the symphony will accompany this season: On Jan. 18, the musicians will perform during two showings of “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”; and on May 2, they will play during a showing of “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” All performances will be in the Ohio Theatre.

“I can’t think of a better place to have this kind of activity than in an old, incredible state theater like this,” he said.