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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Arts / Music / Games / Nerd PLAY! A Video Game Symphony

Posted by The Stranger Testing Department on Wed, Jun 22, 2011 at 12:13 PM

How often do you get to go to the symphony and hear an armada of French horns digging into an overture from Castlevania? Or hear full-throated roars at the mention of Nobuo Uematsu? Pretty much zero times—but more precisely two times: once if you went to Benaroya last night, and again (we predict) if you go tonight. PLAY! A Video Game Symphony is in town for a couple days, and hearing a live symphonic recreation (by the Seattle Symphony and the Seattle Choral Company) of Super Mario Bros., Zelda, Sonic the Hedgehog, Halo, WoW, et al., is a rare and weird treat. (There was also roaring applause for—we kid you not—the mere mentions of Sonic's Green Hill zone and Marble zone.)

Game footage plays on three jumbotron screens above the stage, and some luminaries make guest appearances (including local Marty O'Donnell and live vocals from Aubrey Ashburn, who somehow managed to make the intro to Dragon Age II emotionally moving). PLAY! has toured the world, but Seattle being Seattle, it's getting a hometown crowd here, with requisite shout-outs to all the local shops—plus they have a meet-and-greet with all the special guests after the show. If you are a gamer without plans tonight, this is time well spent.

The Stranger Testing Department is Rob Lightner and Paul Hughes.