Bugs Bunny at the Symphony is celebrating its 25th anniversary with a 20-city U.S. and Canada tour that includes special gala celebrations with the New York Philharmonic, already sold-out in four performances at Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.
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“We’re honored to be celebrating 25 years of Bugs Bunny at the Symphony as it continues to entertain generations of fans at landmark venues around the world,” said Karen McTier, Executive Vice President, Warner Bros. Consumer Products in a press release. “Music has always been at the heart of the beloved Looney Tunes and we are thrilled to continue to bring music, laughter and artistic inspiration to worldwide audiences in this celebratory tour.”
Bugs Bunny on Broadway was created by Emmy winners George Daugherty and David Ka Lik, and premiered in the summer of 1990 to a sold-out house at the San Diego Civic Theatre with the San Diego Symphony, followed by an extended run at The Gershwin Theatre on Broadway, in New York.
The performance featured animated shorts created by such directors as Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett, Tex Avery, and Robert McKimson., including What’s Opera, Doc?, The Rabbit of Seville, Zoom and Bored, Rhapsody Rabbit, Baton Bunny, and many others featuring original scores by Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn, played by full, live symphony orchestra. Through the years, the concert has played to audiences around the world, in venues such as the Sydney Opera House, the Hollywood Bowl, Severance Hall, and Royal Festival Hall. These have included 20 performances with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, the National Symphony at Wolf Trap, the San Francisco Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, the Sydney Symphony, the St. Louis and Pittsburgh Symphonies, and over 150 other major orchestras worldwide.
In 2010, Bugs Bunny on Broadway was rechristened as Bugs Bunny at the Symphony, and in 2013, as Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II. In 2015 and 2016, the concert franchise receives a 25th Anniversary Celebration tour going from Coast to Coast on the North American continent.
On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 14-16, the New York Philharmonic performs a special 25th Anniversary edition of the concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, conducted by Daugherty, and with special guest Whoopi Goldberg at the May 15 and 16 performances. Due to overwhelming response, the New York Philharmonic has added an extra performance on Thursday night, May 14, and will feature a salute to the iconic animation director Chuck Jones, whose fanciful cartoons make up the bulk of the concert, along with Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes costumed characters on-hand, courtesy of Six Flags Great Adventure and Safari, for audience photo opportunities at every New York Philharmonic performance. The entire four-performance run is now sold-out.
The West Coast edition of the special celebration takes place on Friday and Saturday, August 14-15, with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl, where the concert has appeared more than 20 times in the past, many of which were sellouts. Looney Tunes and the Bowl have always had a special relationship with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, even frequently rehearsing (in the early days) in Warner Bros’ large orchestra scoring stage (one of the few left in Hollywood). The concert brings their partnership to life as several of the most iconic cartoons, such as Long Haired Hare, The Rabbit of Seville, Baton Bunny, and a guest artist appearance – Tom and Jerry in The Hollywood Bowl –all set in an animated version of the Bowl itself.
The August 14 and 15 Bowl special performances will include the world premiere of Long-Haired Hare accompanied by live orchestra, as well as the concert premiere of Rabid Rider, one of the Studio’s new and critically-acclaimed 3D Looney Tunes shorts; a special celebratory performance of The Dying Swan by Ida Nevasayneva (a/k/a Paul Ghiselin), the beloved prima ballerina of the hilariously world-famous Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, paying homage to Bugs Bunny’s legendary on-screen balletic exploits; and on-stage turns by a number of other special guest artists, including the current line-up of Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes voiceover artists, in a salute to “the man of a thousand voices”, Mel Blanc.
“Having been part of this 25-year creative legacy, in collaboration with my creative partner David Ka Lik Wong, has been a dream come true,” said conductor/co-creator George Daugherty. “We never imagined that 25 years later, we would still be performing this concert around the world, selling out virtually every performance.”
“These Warner Bros. cartoons are absolutely the best of the best, and their original Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn scores are brilliant examples of that perfect fusion of classical music themes and exhilarating American film music,” Daugherty added. “It really is no surprise that audiences, no matter what age or where they grew up, can never get enough of the Looney Tunes. For us to perform them with the greatest symphony orchestras in the world, in the most iconic concert halls on the planet—well, it just doesn’t get any better than that.”
“I am honored to be associated with this concert series for almost its entire 25 year history,” said Steven A. Linder, Senior Vice-President, Global Head of Attractions, IMG Artists, the worldwide booking and management agency for both concerts. “And I am equally thrilled to be part of this project, as so brilliantly conceived by George Daugherty and David Ka Lik Wong. All of us at IMG Artists are so proud to be part of this project as it reaches its milestone 25th Anniversary.”
Further information and ticketing link for the entire tour can be found on the concert’s official website, https://bugsbunnyatthesymphony.net/
