50 years of Star Trek comes to the Times-Union Center with concert tour

Capt. James T. Kirk returns to the big screen Saturday night in Jacksonville.

But this time, iconic Star Trek catchphrases like actor William Shatner's "Khaaan" yell and Leonard "Spock" Nimoy's "Live long and prosper" will be accompanied by a live symphony orchestra during a multimedia concert celebrating the TV and film franchise's music and 50th anniversary.

Called "Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage," it warps into the Times-Union Center's Moran Theatre on Saturday as part of a 100-city tour that had its world premiere Nov. 1 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, then kicked off its stateside run on Sunday in West Palm Beach. It presents five decades of "Star Trek" music live as scenes from its five television series and 12 films, including the two reboots by director J.J. Abrams, play on a 40-foot screen. As perhaps the most iconic of the original (1966-69) "Star Trek" series' cast, Shatner is helping promote it, even though he won't be in attendance.

"It is a phenomenon. We are celebrating the 50th anniversary, and nobody else can make that claim," Shatner said. "We have a live concert tour, which will sharpen your ears as you see the scenes being spoken and hear the music live. The audience will understand how incredibly important music is to the spoken word. … It is a concert that has absolutely never been done before. The 50th anniversary - it is an event and if you don't see it you will miss out in a showbiz event that will only happen once."

Music has been a big part of the more than 700 "Star Trek" TV episodes and the dozen films. La-La Land Records released a 15-CD compilation in 2012 called "Star Trek: The Original Series Soundtrack Collection," with music composed by Alexander Courage, George Durning and others. Composer Jerry Goldsmith wrote Emmy and Oscar award-winning scores for five "Star Trek" movies and the title themes for two spin-off series. This concert is being conducted by Justin Freer and produced by CineConcerts.

What makes "Star Trek" so enduring that a 100-city concert tour was created? Shatner said it is because of the "magic of 'Star Trek,' " which he delved into in his 1999 book and 2012 documentary about Trek fans, both called "Get a Life."

Shatner, who will be 85 in March, has also endured after playing Kirk on the original series between 1966 and 1969, as well as the first seven feature films. He has done many other TV series, while his national one-man show came to the Florida Theatre two years ago, and he has another 13-show run that starts tonight in New York and includes South Florida dates. He's back on NBC soon with Henry Winkler and George Foreman in a reality series, "Better Late Than Never." He has another science fiction book coming out, called "Zero G," and a sequel, and he plans to be at several 'Star Trek' and ComicCon conventions this year. And, ever modest , Shatner said he's "generously involved" on screen at Saturday's concert.

"My face is generously displayed on the screen," Shatner said with a chuckle.

What he won't be in is "Star Trek Beyond," the 13th film due for release smack in the middle of Star Trek's 50th anniversary. And he said he won't be in the new 'Star Trek' television series set to premiere in January 2017, first on the CBS Television Network, then on CBS All Access, its digital subscription video service

He also has another book coming out on Feb. 16 - "Leonard: My Fifty-Year Friendship with a Remarkable Man."

"Friendship like that is so rare, that heartfelt brother friendship that very few people attain," Shatner said. "I talk about it and what we did and how we did it and it has gotten rave reviews."

And as he hits the midpoint of his eighth decade as one of the remaining original "Star Trek" crew still alive - joining George "Sulu" Takei, Walter "Chekov" Koenig and Nichelle "Uhura" Nichols - Shatner laughs as he says his whole reason in life is to "outlive the others."

The U.S. tour ends May 5 at Jones Hall in Houston, with a grand finale Sept. 25 in Paris.

Star Trek: The Ultimate Voyage

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: The Times-Union Center

How much: $31 to $81 - online at http://www.fscjartistseries.org

Dan Scanlan: (904) 359-4549