The Music of Star Trek and Star Wars

On Saturday, we took a day trip to St. Petersburg, FL for brunch and to see "The Music of Star Trek and Star Wars" presented by The Florida Orchestra, accompanied by the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay Rebel Forces at the Mahaffey Theater.

Brunch was at The Cider Press Café. The food was very good and the atmosphere was enjoyable. We plan on returning soon, so many choices we have to try!

Heather had the Cheesecake Stuffed Banana Maple Pancakes with eggplant bacon, which were both very sweet, but delicious.

I had the Country Benedict, which was very good and very filling!

We "shared" Mac & Cheese and Potato Salad. I say shared, but I ate most of both, those long Saturday runs really gets me hungry!

After a delicious brunch, we headed to the Mahaffey Theater for the show. We both love St. Pete, both for the food and for the beautiful waterfront. The Mahaffey is also a great place to watch a show. The seats aren't uncomfortably narrow, and parking isn't a PITA !

 

Michael Francis, the conductor, supplied clever anecdotal quips before each musical selection. His stories were insightful with a whimsical touch which added brevity to the event. The show spotlighted the music of Star Trek then after intermission explored Star Wars songs.

Of the Star Trek songs, my favorites were the Wrath of Kahn, and the STTNG - Inner Light songs. I definitely MAY have started searching for ways to stream both the movie and the TV show on Sunday ;-)

But, I'm a Star Wars guy, and I LOVED the Star Wars set. Everytime I hear the music, I get transplanted to the Star Wars universe. I just love it. May 4th weekend can't come fast enough, so I can watch them all over again! With Solo coming out this year, I may just OD on SW nerdyness.

During the Star Wars production, Darth Vader along with Storm Troopers invaded the stage while the conductor disappeared. The Emperor appeared taking the place of the conductor. We soon discovered the Emperor was the conductor in disguise. In the process of revealing himself to us, Mr. Francis misplaced his baton, so he finished conducting the last song with a lightsaber.

I managed to take a short video of the ending of the Imperial March. Excuse my poor vidcamera skills...

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the performance. The Florida Orchestra is impressive! If you have an opportunity to see them live, we highly recommend it.

Dave and Heather