This last weekend my husband and I decided to take our family to the Bugs Bunny symphony. We had never taken our children to the symphony, even though we had studied the different instruments of the symphony when they were younger. We had also gone to a free symphony in the park, which included fireworks. Anyway, when my husband and I saw that the symphony was going to be playing classical music from the Bugs Bunny cartoons, well, we just had to go. Our whole family loves Looney Tunes.
We got the kids dressed up, and we arrived at the theater where the symphony would be performing. Little did we know that there was going to be a screen with Bugs Bunny cartoons, backed up by the real symphony! It was so funny to see Bugs Bunny directing. The real director, as well as Bugs Bunny, both bowed to the audience, and the real symphony seemed to be led by Bugs Bunny himself! What a hoot! I glanced over to my husband, and we grinned at each other. I was glad we had brought Rachel. She’s 5 years old, and we’ve taken her to see a play before, but she gets antsy to sit for so long. If I had known that the show would include Bugs Bunny cartoons throughout the entire show, I wouldn’t have hesitated to bring her.
Chuck Jones (the director of the Bugs Bunny cartoons) was actually born i
n Spokane, Washington, right here where I live. Another interesting fact was that the antique theater where we were sitting used to be a movie theater with an orchestra. Yes, people who paid a dime to go to the movies saw a 5 minute newsreel, a Bugs Bunny cartoon, and a double feature, backed up by a live symphony. We sat in the very room where people nearly 70 years ago watched something similar to what we were watching.
My whole family enjoyed the show, and I was only sad that I hadn’t thought of bringing my dad. He is a big Looney Tunes fan, and to hear a real symphony performing all those classical songs would have caused him to chuckle. “The Barber of Seville” was sooooooo funny, as well as the “Kill the Rabbit with my Shield and Magic Helmet” (or whatever that is called). Those were two of my favorite Bugs Bunny cartoons of all time. The grins on my children’s faces were priceless, and I’m sure that because of this show, they will probably love classical music for the rest of their lives.
