Bowl’s Spectacle Goes Off According to Plan

The formula for a successful Fourth of July celebration at the Hollywood Bowl has been well established: Start out with John Mauceri conducting the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in a program of accessible pieces, preferably from film scores, but with the inclusion of at least one Copland work; bring on a headliner with a solid portfolio of hits and a willingness to perform them all; and wind up with a spectacular fireworks display accompanied by a set of Sousa marches for the final, explosive moments.

And that’s exactly what a packed house crowd experienced Sunday, the opening performance of a three-night run that ends tonight. Mauceri and the orchestra were in fine form, the headliner was the ever-amiable Glen Campbell, and the fireworks were terrific.

At the venerable Lennon & McCartney forecast age of 64, Campbell showed no signs of wearing down. He obviously was going to concentrate on his hits (mostly from the ‘60s and ‘70s) for this performance, but--with the lush accompaniment of the orchestra--many of the tunes sounded even better than in the original versions.

He sang “Gentle on My Mind,” of course, as well as “Galveston,” “Southern Nights” and the theme from “True Grit.” But he also added a passionate rendering (with full orchestral backing) of Jimmy Webb’s “MacArthur Park” and gave us a brisk guitar romp through “Classical Gas.”

For the Bowl orchestra’s opening segment, Mauceri took the unusual, and highly effective, programming tack of selecting pieces written by composers born in the first year of the 20th century. The results were surprisingly diverse, ranging from Alfred Newman and Victor Young to Kurt Weill and Aaron Copland. The first half closed with a few numbers for the many youngsters in the audience, Vince Guaraldi’s “Linus and Lucy” and a collection of Disney tunes among them. Performed by the orchestra with the enthusiastic young members of the Mitch Hanlon Singers, they provided one of the evening’s many highlights.

Those highlights climaxed, as always, with special effects consultant Gene Evan’s marvelous fireworks extravaganza. Performed this year to the accompaniment of “The Stars and Stripes Forever,” it was a great way to celebrate a great birthday.