Musician and composer Danny Elfman has made it clear in the past that repetition bores him.
Though he’s performed “The Nightmare Before Christmas” live-to-film concert experiences for a handful of years now, he’s still coming up with new ways to present the Tim Burton-conceived (and Henry Selick directed) 1993 cult classic film. Bringing it back this year with a pair of shows on Friday, Oct. 29 and Sunday, Oct. 31 inside a new home at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, Elfman presented a few fresh twists this time around, including having musical megastar and fellow Los Angles resident Billie Eilish perform as Sally.
Eilish nailed Sally’s high, sweet vocals (originated by actress Catherine O’Hara) and added a deeper, breathier, twist that brought fans — yes, even the judgey ones — to their feet in applause. She looked the part too in a colorful patchwork Sally dress. Though she’s performed in front of much larger audiences than the sold-out soccer stadium’s 22,000-capacity crowd, she did seem a bit nervous at first, but she playfully duetted with Elfman at the end of the film.
For these shows, the audience should know by now not to leave early. Back in 2015, when Elfman kicked off these special Halloween performances, he returned to the stage, strapped on a guitar and played his band Oingo Boingo’s “Dead Man’s Party” live for the first time in two decades.
This year, after taking several bows — with Eilish and fellow guests Ken Page as Oogie Boogie, Paul Reubens as Lock and “Weird Al” Yankovic as Shock, conductor John Mauceri and the full orchestra and choir — and receiving thunderous applause, he came back out and performed a special version of “Oogie Boogie’s Song,” a track he originally wrote for Page. He then returned one last time with Oingo Boingo guitarist Steve Bartek and a full band to perform “Dead Man’s Party” with an orchestral arrangement. These songs may well have been part of what Elfman had been working on to include in his career-encapsulating sets at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio before it was canceled due to the pandemic in 2020.
“Up until four weeks ago, I was going, ‘Please don’t let it cancel; don’t let there be another surge!’” Elfman said of his first live performances in three years before introducing Eilish. “And here we are, it almost feels like real life, doesn’t it?”
Elfman really comes to life performing the Jack Skellington vocals. He’s animated, confident and super creepy with all of the cackles from the songs. Reubens, Yankovic and Elfman looked like they had a lot of fun as Lock, Shock and Barrel, but it was Page, Mr. Oogie Boogie himself, who received the most love from the audience. His deep, playful vocal and commitment to this character, which was created nearly three decades ago, is really very sweet.
While the stadium offered a more sprawling view of the live orchestra and all of the action, there were glitches. Some of the sound went out at the beginning of the movie, which had fans on one side of the stadium chanting, “Turn it up!” Traffic around the stadium was a nightmare on its own with some fans taking to social media to complain that they sat in it until midway through the show. Those sitting in the upper side levels of the venue also had an obstructed view of the giant main screen courtesy of huge hanging speaker stacks, which blocked the only up-close camera view of some of the special guest performances.
In many ways, returning to see Elfman on Halloween in Los Angeles felt like a move toward some sort of normalcy. Fans showed up ready for a “Nightmare.” Though the venue required guests to wear face masks as part of its COVID-19 health and safety protocol, it’s Halloween weekend, so it was interesting to see how many patrons just incorporated masks into their costumes. And while the new venue didn’t offer as many opportunities for the fun Halloween Town vibe that the event previously had at the Hollywood Bowl, there was still on-site trick-or-treating (and yes, even the adults can get candy without judgment) and plenty of pop-up “The Nightmare Before Christmas” themed photo op stations.
“The Nightmare Before Christmas” Live-to-Film Experience
When: Friday, Oct. 29
Where: Banc of California Stadium
Also: 6:30 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 31 at Banc of California Stadium, 3939 South Figueroa Street, Los Angeles; $59.50-$179.50 at Ticketmaster.com
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