UNDERNEATH THE STARS

Mariah Carey sings, "One summer night, we ran away for a while. Laughing, we hurried beneath the sky to an obscure place to hide that no one could find. And we drifted to another state of mind." Watching John Williams conduct the LA Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, under a blanket of summer evening sky lightly sprinkled with stars, was not quite the romantic tryst that Mimi sings of, but a potluck picnic on the grounds, followed by a live soundtrack was time well spent and will be one of many moments alluded to when old age and nostalgia begin to take their toll on good friends recalling their youth.

What can better emboss memory onto our lives than music? The very first few notes of a familiar tune can turn the mind on to a myriad of images such as those we saw in our heads on Saturday night: the trumpet sounds of the STAR TREK theme signaled the arrival of the enterprise; an uppity western tune was reminiscent of classics like THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN; an ethereal humming of the harp, sounded off the curiosity and mystery incarnated from CLOSE ENCOUNTERS of the THIRD KIND; the climactic chorus of voices led the redemptive foreground of AMISTAD; adventure leapt beyond our chests at the images of INDIANA JONES cracking his whip on the quest to find the Holy Grail; and of course the theme of all John Williams themes - STAR WARS, the tune which cued a glowing scatter of green, blue and red light sabers to appear in the shadows of the audience. Despite feeling robbed because of HARRY POTTER's absence in the program, much to Cile and Christine's dismay, the well-respected composer left and then walked back on stage for a number of encore performances.

For your gift to the world of film, Mr. Williams - BRAVO!