Holiday Audiences Find “Love Actually”

By Nick Nicholas with Wes Hessel

Auditorium Theatre one again was the great venue for the popular Auditorium Philms Concert Series, in this case for the holiday season with the 2003 ensemble movie “Love Actually”. I’ve never experienced the importance of an orchestra conductor to its fullest glory until that night’s performance of “‘Love Actually’ in Concert”. One watches the film and when it reaches a climax in its plot, one’s attention shifts to the orchestra playing and then it becomes obvious that it’s the music that brings the “message home”.

Conductor Susie Benchasil Seiter did just that leading the Chicago Philharmonic in some very demanding quick twists and turns in the score, which changes styles so very frequently since the nature of the love stories the film is all about themselves have a different feel through each of its interwoven tales.  All charming, entertaining and so relatable. A brilliant film in its every aspect, and this is why it was chosen for such a demanding labor of love to create a concert for it. We were treated to an overture prior to its start, and a 4-5 minute full scale playing of its main theme essence of the score as the credits were rolling on the big screen in the Auditorium’s magnificent space to a standing ovation.

There is one more coming before the 2025 Philms series begins – Saturday, January 18 at 7:30 pm, the blockbuster “Black Panther in Concert” will return for one night only. Next year’s series
tickets are available for the five films “in Concert”: “The Terminator”, “The Goonies” (40th anniversary), the original “Toy Story” (30th anniversary), “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, and “The Holiday”. To purchase, or information on the many other upcoming entertainment and culture options at the Theatre, please visit www.auditoriumtheatre.org. For more about the Chicago Philharmonic (or Chi Phil, as it is also known) and their future offerings, go to www.chicagophilharmonic.org.

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