Batman lives.
Folks watching the recent Academy Award broadcast were treated with a cool moment where Batman actor Michael Keaton was confronted by former on-screen nemeses Arnold Schwarzenegger (Mr. Freeze) and Danny DeVito (The Penguin).
It’s been 35 years since Keaton’s debut film as the Dark Knight in 1989’s “Batman.” To celebrate the iconic film’s anniversary, “Batman in Concert” is touring with a performance set for April 21 at Playhouse Square’s KeyBank State Theatre.
In addition to seeing the film, audiences will hear live accompaniment of Danny Elfman’s score by a 50-person orchestra.
For conductor James Olmstead (“The Tony Awards,” “PBS Great Performances,” Josh Groban’s “Great Big Radio City Show,” Elton John’s “The Devil Wears Prada”), returning to “Batman” is surreal.
“I was 6 years old and saw it in theaters,” said Arkansas native Olmstead, calling from New York City. ” It was one of the first movies I saw. I was certainly taken aback by the score. When I was younger, I was very into movie scores.
“I have to imagine this was one the first things that really struck my attention. It’s very iconic and unforgettable. It might have been one of the first things that drug me in.”
The return to his childhood actually began last year when he started with DC in Concert, conducting a touring orchestra playing to a screening 2022’s “The Batman” in Europe.
Then, earlier this year, he moved to the “Batman in Concert” production, which has been blowing his musician’s mind.
“One of my first reactions was it has a lot of brass,” he said. “There’s a lot of trombones. The low end really brings the power to this thing.
“Also, now that I’ve dissected the score and (done) this several times, I just love how Elfman really brings in a bit of his humor and his comedy into the score, as well as underscoring this whole Batman and superhero themes. There’s a lot of nuance in the score that I didn’t pick up on 35 years ago.”
The other musical note of “Batman” is Prince’s contribution to the soundtrack.
“It’s funny, the Prince songs didn’t really register with me when I was younger,” he said. “They did later. I also conducted a symphonic Prince experience (tour) that was curated by Questlove.”
Movie songs attendees shouldn’t expect to hear live are the Purple One’s “Batman” tunes.
“It’s funny — sometimes people think we’re going to the Prince stuff, but we don’t,” he said. “You can’t really create that on stage, but we do play a lot of the nuance things that you don’t realize is in the movie upon first viewing.”
That said, if folks really want to hear “Batdance,” they can attend a “4U: The Music of Prince with Symphony” show.
“That’s exactly right,” he laughed.
‘Batman in Concert’
When: 7 p.m. April 21.
Where: Playhouse Square’s KeyBank State Theatre, 1519 Euclid Ave., Cleveland.
Tickets: $48.50 to $103.50.
Info: 216-241-6000 or PlayhouseSquare.org.
