The much beloved film-and-orchestra concert Bugs Bunny at the Symphony is returning to Los Angeles for the first time in eight years, and in a new home . . . the spectacular Microsoft Theater. The gala return performance takes place on Sunday, July 30, 2023, at 6:00 p.m., with 16 classic Looney Tunes projected on the gigantic screen, while a large live symphony orchestra, conducted by Emmy Award winner George Daugherty, plays the iconic original Carl Stalling and and Mily Franklyn live! Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 17.
2023 is also the 100th Anniversary of Warner Bros., so there is a lot to look forward to as the iconic studio is celebrated globally.
“Bugs Bunny at the Symphony” has been a gargantuan audience favorite since its Los Angeles premiere in 1991, with over 300,000 Los Angeles audience members having experienced Bugs Bunny’s musical magic over the past 32 years.
The concert has received countless rave reviews from critics all over the globe. About a recent performance, New York Broadway World critic Jade Kops wrote: “Bugs Bunny at the Symphony” is a crowd pleasing collection of iconic Looney Tunes and live performance of the original classically-infused musical scores that lifts them to be so much more than children’s entertainment. Led by conductor and co-creator George Daugherty, Bugs Bunny and the Looney Tunes gang entertain, delight, and enlighten audiences from all walks of life that classical music is not reserved for the wealthy, educated, and elite but has been accessible, and part of our lives, ever since “the Saturday mornings sitting in front of the television watching Bugs Bunny in our footy pajamas eating cereal.” Daugherty’s endearing charm shines through as he leads the orchestra, flashing warm, encouraging and expressive smiles across the orchestra as the tone is set from the overture on. Bugs Bunny at the Symphony is a wonderful night out for anyone and everyone. Regardless of whether people are seasoned concert goers or have never dreamed that classical music would be their ‘thing’, this concert allows people to connect to music and animation in an accessible way, also hopefully opening people to the possibility of seeing other classical music or opera performances.”
Conducted by Emmy Award winner George Daugherty, and created by Daugherty and Emmy Award winner David Ka Lik Wong, “Bugs Bunny at the Symphony” has been touring the world with major symphony orchestras and at iconic venues since 1990, when the production first sold-out Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre as “Bugs Bunny On Broadway.” Since then, the concert has played to sold-out houses and rave reviews around the globe, with hundreds of orchestras and venues ranging from The New York Philharmonic to The Boston Pops to The Philadelphia Orchestra and The Royal Philharmonic . . . from The Hollywood Bowl to the Sydney Opera House to Lincoln Center. The concert is in high demand, with upcoming international performances in Australia, Mexico, Switzerland, Italy, Montreal, Toronto, Vanouver, and Edmonton, as well as U.S. performances across the country in including San Francisco Symphony and Spokane Symphony, and more. In recent months, the concert has sold out with the Pittsburgh Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, Las Vegas Symphony, Mexico’s Conjunto Santander de Artes Escénicas’, Oregon Symphony, and many others.
This latest version of “Bugs Bunny at the Symphony” pairs 16 brilliant, iconic Looney Tunes projected on the big screen , including What’s Opera, Doc?, The Rabbit of Seville, Baton Bunny, Long-Haired Hare, and Corny Concerto, plus five brand new animated shorts – Rabid Rider, Coyote Falls, Fur of Flying, Dynamite Dance, and Wet Cement — while their exhilarating classically-infused scores are played live.
“When we were all growing up and watching Looney Tunes on Saturday morning, we didn’t realize we also getting a massive lesson in classical music,” says Daugherty. “Bugs Bunny at the Symphony is the perfect opportunity to bring today’s kids to the symphony orchestra and appreciate the beauty of classical music while getting a hilarious twist from Bugs Bunny and his cohorts. More importantly, it’s a chance for adults of all ages to rekindle their affection for these brilliant animated shorts, and relive a truly nostalgic and magical part of their childhoods.”
Known as a multi-generationally loved show perfect for all ages, Bugs Bunny at the Symphony’s guests to reminisce on the good times from their own childhoods, as well as create new memories with Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner, Michigan J. Frog, and the rest of the Looney Tunes characters, seen in their most beloved cartoons.
“We are especially excited to be performing at The Microsoft Theater,” said Daugherty. “It’s one of the preeminiate venues of its kind in the world, and we will start a new tradition where decades more of multi-generational audiences can revel in the brilliance of Bugs Bunny and his Looney Tunes .
Daugherty noted that the July 30 Microsoft Theater performance will feature animation-friendly activities in the theaters foyer prior to showtime, including Animation Stations provided by the Chuck Jones Center for Creativitiy, and numerous photo ops for audience members of all ages.
George Daugherty has conducted more than 250 American and international orchestras, and also earned a Primetime Emmy Award, five other Emmy nominations, and numerous other awards for his work in television and film. He has been a frequent guest conductor of The New York Philharmonic, The Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Pops, Pittsburgh Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony, Danish National Symphony, l’Orchestre de la Suisse Romand, Hong Kong Philharmonic, among many. He has conducted The Los Angeles Symphony at The Hollywood Bowl 22 times, and the National Symphony 20 times at Wolf Trap. He has been a frequent guest conductor at the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Symphony Orchestra, with The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, and with the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra in London, and on tour throughout the UK, plus to the United States and Canada conducting “A Royal Christmas” for Dame Julie Andrews. Christopher Plummer, and the Royal Ballet.
A noted conductor of ballet and opera, he has conducted for American Ballet Theatre, Bavarian Staatsoper and Ballet, La Scala Ballet, Teatro Regio di Torino, Teatro Bellas Artes, and numerous other companies, and has been music director of Ballet Chicago, Chicago City Ballet, Louisville Ballet, and Ballet San Jose, among many. George Daugherty and producing partner David Ka Lik Wong received Primetime Emmys as executive producers of ABC’s animation-and-live action production of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf, which Daugherty also directed, wrote, and conducted, and for which he was also Emmy- nominated for Outstanding Music Direction. Daugherty and Wong were also executive producers and writers of the PBS/Sesame Workshop children’s series Sagwa, The Chinese Siamese Cat, and both received Emmy nominations for “Rhythm & Jam,” their series of ABC network music education specials.
In 1990, Daugherty and Wong created Bugs Bunny On Broadway, which made its debut at Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre with a sold-out extended run, and along with its sequel Bugs Bunny at the Symphony has since played to critical acclaim and sold-out houses all over the world, to audiences of over 2 million people.
David Ka Lik Wong is also a Prime Time Emmy Award winner, a three-time Emmy nominee, has created programming and concerts on Broadway and for the greatest symphony orchestras and concert halls in the world, and together with George Daugherty has produced, written, and created a slate of critically-acclaimed television programs and movies for Warner Bros., ABC/Disney, Sesame Workshop, PBS, and other major studios and networks. He has been the co-creator, producer, technical/stage director, and lighting designer for the concerts entire history.
Warner Bros. Discovery Presents Bugs Bunny at the Symphony is a 130-minute concert, with one 20-minute intermission. Ticket prices range from $49.50 to $195.50. Tickets may be purchased at: www.AXS.com
