Who ya gonna call? Technically, nobody because you can’t use your phone in the theater.  But! We do have something strange coming to your neighborhood. It’s an experience of Ghostbusters that – dare we say it – is better than the movie by itself. 

GHOSTBUSTERS, But With A Live Orchestra 

So there you are, sitting in the darkened theater, watching on the edge of your seat as the Ghostbusters crew realizes Ray (Dan Akroyd) has inadvertently thought of a physical form for Gozer the Destructor ... the camera pans to a close-up of the New York City skyline, revealing this terrible, bloodthirsty creature—then the scratching, discordant string music kicks in. Only, the music is right there in the theater with you, played in perfect timing. The goosebumps are real. You’re frozen to your seat in abject fright as the shadowed, looming visage of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man appears at the edge of the frame. <cue evil laugh> 

GHOSTBUSTERS IN CONCERT takes the film to a new level with an orchestral accompaniment. You’ll hear the score in real time as you relive the epic nostalgia of the original movie. This event is the kind of thing you’ll want to make a generational experience, especially for anyone who remembers seeing the movie in the theaters when it came out. The film with live musicians gives you and your children and grandchildren a more immediate and immersive experience of the story. Yes, you’re watching Ghostbusters, but the music surrounding you transports you directly into the story itself. Keep your proton guns at the ready, folks. 

Fun Facts About Ghostbusters 

Comic geniuses Dan Akyrod and Harold Ramis (Dr. Egon Spengler) were in their heyday when they wrote the screenplay, and Bill Murray (Dr. Peter Venkman) was well on his way to cultural icon status when the film debuted in 1984. The movie was an instant phenomenon, grossing more than $282 million worldwide that year (about $910 million in today’s dollars), breaking box office records. Ghostbusters was America’s number one movie for seven weeks in a row. That’s most of the summer of 1984.  

For arts and entertainment history fans, an important footnote to Ghostbusters involves John Belushi, another comic genius of the time and the enfant terrible of Saturday Night Live. Akroyd started writing the film with Belushi in mind as one of the four main characters. Akroyd was writing one of Belushi’s lines when he got the call about Belushi’s tragic death in 1982. Later, Akroyd admitted to considering famed ghost Slimer the “ghost of John Belushi,” with Slimer’s eating habits and full-tilt consumption of life inspired by the late comedian. Other actors considered for Ghostbusters included Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, John Candy, Christopher Walken, and John Lithgow, but they either had scheduling conflicts or didn’t go for the script. 

Here are a few more film factoids to note while you’re immersed in your GHOSTBUSTERS IN CONCERT experience: 

The Stay Puft explosion required 50 gallons of shaving cream per take. 

Some of the scenes filmed in New York City were shot spontaneously at famous locations. The scene in Rockefeller Center is one of these, and you’ll see the actors chased off by a real security guard. 

Despite being set in NYC, Ghostbusters was mostly filmed on location in Los Angeles and at Burbank Studios. 

The Ghostbusters’ firehouse is a real place, New York fire station Hook & Ladder #8. 

Elmer Berstein And The Ghostbusters Film Score 

Since the main element of GHOSTBUSTERS IN CONCERT is the live orchestra playing the score as the movie rolls, let’s talk about the music. 

Academy Award winning composer Elmer Bernstein penned the score to Ghostbusters, one of more than 150 composed in his lifetime. Bernstein was the John Williams of his day, working with directors like Cecil B. DeMille, Martin Scorsese, John Landis, and John Sturges. Bernstein composed the theme to The Magnificent Seven, the National Geographic television series fanfare, and USC’s “Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way” is a rewrite of Bernstein’s Broadway tune “Step to the Rear.” 

 

 

Bernstein’s film scores include The Great Escape, The Ten Commandments, To Kill a Mockingbird, True Grit, The Man with the Golden Arm, Stripes, Airplane!, The Blues Brothers, An American Werewolf in London, Animal House, and the score to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” music video. 

Bernstein is a big deal. 

For GHOSTBUSTERS IN CONCERT, Peter Bernstein, Elmer’s son who helped orchestrate the film score, reconstructed his father’s music for the live performance. The concert event you’re going to see and hear stays directly in the Bernstein family legacy, making this performance as close as we can get to experiencing Elmer’s original music for the movie. 

GHOSTBUSTERS IN CONCERT Tickets in Greenville 

Expect high entertainment value and ghostly spooky season fun when GHOSTBUSTERS IN CONCERT haunts Peace Concert Hall OCT. 27. If you’re a fan of the film, take this opportunity to introduce friends and family to one of the defining comedy/horror films of the 1980s. GHOSTBUSTERS IN CONCERT makes for a perfect date night, friends’ night out, or enjoyable evening out for anyone who wants a movie night that goes to the next level. 

That is, if you ain’t afraid of no ghosts.