There are a lot of folks in the Richmond area who know their cartoon characters. And there are a lot who know their classical music as well. A crowd of 3,000-plus of the aforementioned people --from 5 to 85 -- got a fascinating treatment of both at the Landmark Theater on Saturday night.

It was Bugs, Daffy, Porky and company on a giant screen hung just over the heads of the Richmond Symphony Orchestra in full white tie and tail formal dress on the stage, all under the baton (and coordination) of George Daugherty, creator and conductor of "Bugs Bunny on Broadway."

Daugherty, a traditional classical music conductor who has appeared before top drawer orchestras all over the world, gave the crowd exactly what was expected but, most likely, had never seen before.

Almost 20 years ago, Daugherty, while downing some pizza after a long day rehearsing with the American Ballet Company in New York, happened to see a bootleg copy of the popular cartoon "What's Opera, Doc?" It awakened memories from his childhood and stirred an interest in why the original cartoon makers at Warner Brothers used so much classical music in their works.

He dove into the project full force and, under an agreement with Warner Brothers, started working with some of the original cartoonists and music scorers. From this slightly offhand approach, he came up with the idea for a program that has proven itself extremely popular worldwide.

It's difficult to describe but delightful to behold. One of the reasons was effusively defined by Daugherty as he complimented the Richmond Symphony musicians more than a few times . . . and with good reason. The orchestra was terrific.

Playing a variety of pieces that leapt through centuries of composers and synched almost perfectly with the cartoon characters' antics, the musicians really made the show. And it showed that many of those early cartoons leaned heavily on music rather than dialogue.

Carl Stallings was the original orchestrator for many of the cartoons, and Chuck Jones directed much of the animation. When Daugherty introduced these two names to the audience there was spontaneous applause for both, particularly from the older members of the crowd. They know these people . . . grew up with them. And they obviously appreciate them.

It was still very different to hear the Richmond Symphony blast into that extremely familiar "Merry Melodies Theme" that precedes each of the approximately 2,500 cartoons that were created. But they did it with flair each time.

And it was almost startling to hear how many people applauded when certain of the cartoon titles appeared on the screen: "Baton Bunny," "The Rabbit of Seville," "A Corny Concerto" and "What's Opera, Doc?" to name a few.

Daugherty ended the evening with a collage of scenes from many various cartoons as the orchestra followed his baton to an impossibly fast reading of Gioachino Rossini's "William Tell Overture."

But it was all top-notch, doc.
Contact Walt Amacker at (804) 649-6247 or wamacker@timesdispatch.com.