Binghamton Philharmonic plans 'Twilight Zone'-based concert Oct. 22. What to know
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The Binghamton Philharmonic will present a one-of-a-kind concert Oct. 22 featuring the words and music of two one-of-a-kind talents: TV legend Rod Serling who grew up in Binghamton and acclaimed composer and Academy Award winner Bernard Herrmann.
The philharmonic's performance of "Walking Distance" at Binghamton High School revisits the fifth episode of the first season of "The Twilight Zone," the iconic series Serling created.
In addition to Herrmann's memorable score, the concert will include Southern Tier Actors Read performing the dialogue from Serling's haunting teleplay.
“This is a perfect marriage of spoken word and music in the perfect setting: the Helen Foley Theatre at Binghamton High School, named for Serling’s drama teacher," said Paul Cienniwa, executive director of the Binghamton Philharmonic.
The unique concert is permitted through a special rights agreement with CBS Broadcasting.
'Walking Distance' based on Recreation Park in Binghamton
Serling grew up on Bennett Avenue on Binghamton's West Side, within easy walking distance of Recreation Park.
Serling mined his upbringing in Binghamton and his memories of Recreation Park — its lush green lawns, its carousel and bandstand — in the 1959 episode.
In "Walking Distance," frazzled, middle-aged advertising executive Martin Sloan visits his hometown, called "Homewood," for the first time in more than two decades while his car is serviced at a nearby garage.
Because it's the "Twilight Zone," what Sloan experiences is not the hometown of his day, but the "Homewood" of his distant past.
Sloan says, "I knew that one day I had to come back and get on the merry-go-round, eat cotton candy and listen to a band concert. Stop. Breathe. Close my eyes, smell, listen."
But Serling, who graduated from Binghamton Central High School in 1943, doesn't present nostalgia as an affirming virtue. Sloan's visit causes more disruption than discovery.
He interacts with his parents and his younger self, an intrusion that is not appreciated.
Sloan's father says, "You have to leave here. There's no room, there's no place. Do you understand that?
"Maybe when you go back, you'll find that there are merry-go-rounds and band concerts where you are. Maybe you haven't been looking in the right place. You have been looking behind you, Martin. Try looking ahead."
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Bernard Herrmann's score 'evokes the nostalgia of Rod Serling’s Binghamton'
Herrmann wrote scores for nearly 50 motion pictures, winning the Oscar for "The Devil and Daniel Webster" in 1942.
Still, Herrmann's most celebrated film score was probably for Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho” in 1960.
"Through his smart compositional choices, Herrmann was able to mirror sonically Hitchcock’s themes of dread, fear, anxiety, and longing," composer Clare Nina Norelli wrote for The Script Lab.
Cienniwa said Herrmann's music for "Twilight Zone" episode is far different. Featuring 18 strings and a harp, the score "evokes the nostalgia of Rod Serling’s Binghamton through several techniques." Cienniwa said.
It includes muted strings, "a practice that creates a hazy, impressionist effect," Cienniwa said, and “divisi” — an instruction to divide a single section of instruments into multiple subsections.
"At times, we are hearing nearly 18 separate lines in a lush texture," he said.
At the climax of the episode, there is a repeated “circle of fifths” — "An harmonic pattern that is both recognizable and endearing," Cienniwa said.
Conductor of Hollywood Orchestra to lead Binghamton Philharmonic
The philharmonic has chosen Michael McGehee, the Los Angeles-based conductor of the Hollywood Studio Orchestra, to lead the musicians.
The first part of the performance will feature the incidental music from the episode by itself, arranged as a concert suite by McGehee.
Next, Southern Tier Actors Read, under the direction of Judy McMahon, will read Serling’s screenplay as the orchestra plays the incidental music in context.
The eight-person cast includes James Michalec as Serling, Andy Horowitz reading the featured role of Martin Sloan and Jake Donlin reading the lines of three characters: Soda Jerk I, male teen with car and Soda Jerk II.
To bring the performance to life, the Endicott Rotary Foundation is providing a mechanical carousel organ. In addition, the Two Rivers Photography Club will display a pre-concert slideshow of area carousels, using photos from their members.
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If you go
The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Helen Foley Theatre of Binghamton High School, 31 Main St.
For tickets and more information, contact the Binghamton Philharmonic box office at 607-723-3931 or visit www.binghamtonphilharmonic.org.
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This article originally appeared on The Evening Tribune: Binghamton Philharmonic concert based on 'Twilight Zone' is Oct. 22
