Went to the Hollywood Bowl tonight with Ben, who brought Ari along. I have to say, in the end, Ari was the best behaved 2-year old I’ve ever observed, considering the length of the evening.
The concert was a musical celebration of 75 Years of Disney, as part of the “Great American Concert” at the Bowl. Conductor John Mauceri did a fantastic job as usual, but it was the guest line-up that was really great. Voice actress Mary Costa from Sleeping Beauty narrated the story of Bambi. Veteran actor Dick Van Dyke came out with Lisa Vroman and sang selections from Mary Poppins.
During intermission, who would we notice a few booths over, but Tom Bosley. Wow. After the intermission, Alan Menken came on stage to sing a medley of his tunes. He was then joined by Jodi Benson (“Ariel” from The Little Mermaid), Paige O’Hara (“Belle” from Beauty and the Beast), and Judy Kuhn (“Pocahontas” from Pocahontas) to sing a few signature songs. Finally, the concert ended with a big fireworks display set to music from The Lion King. As an encore, everyone came back out on stage to sing “When You Wish Upon A Star”. It was a delightful evening at the Bowl, and next week is the John Williams concert!