The classic 1984 film Ghostbusters came to the Hult Center stage with a live orchestra in a concert experience Sept. 20. 

The 13-person orchestra played an arrangement of the film’s original soundtrack, scored by the legendary Elmer Bernstein. Peter Bernstein, Elmer’s son, composed the arrangement for Ghostbusters in Concert. The show was part of a 35-city tour screening the film in theaters throughout the country put on by Black Ink Presents and Schirmer Theatrical.

Ghostbusters follows parapsychology professors Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz and Egon Spengler, who start a business catching ghosts in New York City after getting fired from Columbia University. The business takes off and the three, as well as new hire Winston Zeddemore, ultimately face Gozer, a shapeshifting, world destroying god.  

John Kinsner, Black Ink Presents’ CEO, tells Eugene Weekly that Peter Bernstein was the ideal composer for the show. He worked closely with his father, orchestrating the film’s original soundtrack. “It gives it that authenticity,” Kinsner says. “We didn’t go to somebody else to chop up Elmer’s work.” 

The orchestra’s performance not only stayed authentic to the film’s original score, balancing elements of comedy and supernatural spookiness, it also elevated the viewing experience. 

The brass and orchestral textures conveyed the film’s upbeat energy, while the synths really shone. I was especially wowed by their otherworldly, haunting sound that evoked suspense and eeriness during scenes in which the Ghostbusters were on the prowl for the supernatural.

Paired with the live performance of the film’s soundtrack, the light show made Ghostbusters in Concert all the more immersive. The color-changing lights on stage emphasized the intensity of the film’s more climactic scenes. 

The Ghostbusters’ showdown with the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man at the end of the film was particularly memorable. As the orchestra surged while Venkmen, Stantz, Spengler and Zeddemore made the potentially catastrophic decision to cross the streams of their Neutrona Wands in order to defeat the giant marshmallow man, the lights flashed orange, perfectly in sync with the culminating explosion of the supernatural portal atop the Shandor Building. 

As someone who has seen the film multiple times, the drama and intensity produced by the orchestra and lights made me feel like I was watching the hair-raising yet absurdly hilarious scene for the first time again. 

Aside from the stellar orchestra and production, Ghostbusters in Concert was the quintessential experience for fans of the film and franchise. Conductor Danielle Jagelski not only led the orchestra skillfully, but roused the audience to sing “Ghostbusters!” along to Ray Parker Jr.’s iconic theme song before the movie began. 

While it was a little disappointing that the song was not played live at the beginning of the movie, I was pleasantly surprised to hear the orchestra play it at the end — the perfect way to wrap up the night. 

The live instrumentals were balanced exceptionally with Parker Jr.’s recorded vocals, and trumpet player Valerio Apuzzo’s solo was excellent, capturing the enthusiastic, catchy tone of the song. 

Throughout the screening, the audience interacted much more with the film in comparison to a regular showing of the film. People laughed more, sang along to the theme song and cheered and booed when different characters appeared on screen. I noticed one woman accurately predicting what lines the Ghostbusters would say in certain scenes. 

Whether it was the live orchestra, the overall conviviality of fans sharing their love for the film or a mixture of both, there was a notable air of enthusiasm and excitement in the theater. 

Kinsner says that he strives to bring “a little bit of Rocky Horror Picture Show into every single one of these things we do.” While similar, it wasn’t quite the same as going to a showing of the cult classic musical. 

However, seeing Ghostbusters with a live orchestra and an enthusiastic audience was undeniably more entertaining than watching the movie in a regular theater or at home on your TV. 

“You’re seeing it in a new way, which is really interesting for a film that’s almost 45 years old,” Kinsner says. “To experience something in a new way, that’s really special for the fandom.”

Black Ink Presents, which Kinsner started in 2017, has screened many popular films with a live orchestra, including Labyrinth, Hook and La La Land. 

“Film started, in its earliest conception, in the silent movie era, with having a live organ, or a live band, live scoring the picture,” he says. “In a lot of ways, I love to think of these as not only an homage to those days, but an extension of the most premium way that you can actually experience a film.” 

Ghostbusters in Concert is on tour until Oct. 31. Visit GhostbustersinConcert.com for ticket information.