During the month of November, the Edelman Planetarium is showing people
the king of pop in laser form after a more than three-year hiatus.
“Laser Michael Jackson,” a laser light show that combines the music of
Michael Jackson with visual design had stopped playing at rowan due to a
technical malfunction with a projector in the planetarium. The
projector has recently been replaced and the show is now screening along
side a similar Pink Floyd Laser Show.
The most recent screening of “Laser Michael Jackson,” was on Saturday,
Oct. 28 at 7 p.m. A group of 21 people filled the planetarium to relax
and enjoy a time machine that cultivates Jackson’s biggest hits from the
60s, 80s and 90s, a touch of present day laser design.
A variety of colored lasers form diverse shapes that twist and turn on
screen that creates a sense of motion, along with hits like Beat It,
Thriller, Human Nature, ABC by the Jackson 5, and others.
Betty Bates and Eileen Monahan, two sisters both from Williamstown NJ
decided to see the show with a group of children to enjoy their chilly
Saturday night.
Monahan said Bates called her after she found out about the show by a
web search. Interested in entertaining the children on a Saturday night,
Bates wanted to see what the show would be like.
“I love Michael Jackson, so that caught my eye right away,” Bates said.
“I thought at first it was just going to be about the planets and space
and everything.”
Both sisters enjoyed the show and mostly enjoyed how the children found
it amusing as well. For both sisters, it was their first time
experiencing a laser show at the Edelman Planetarium.
“While I was watching [Laser Michael Jackson] I will truthfully say,
that I’m going to go online and see what other shows they got coming up
because its close by, its inexpensive, and it’s a good thing for the
kids to do,” Monahan said.
The Edelman Planetarium airs Laser Michael Jackson and other laser shows
through “Laser Fantasy,” the company which produces them. The
planetarium gets the rights to air the show, and then Planetarium
Director Amy Barraclough maps out when each will be shown.
This is the first semester during Barraclough’s tenure as director that
laser shows have returned to the planetarium. Nearly five years ago, the
system in the planetarium used to ventilate the room broke and was not
replaced. Barraclough replaced the broken projector with a new one that
is brighter and more energy efficient, so laser shows could return to
Rowan University this fall.
One of the shows Barraclough has been frequently asked to show was Laser
Michael Jackson. After being absent since the laser system broke,
Barraclough decided to fill the request from people and brought the show
back to Rowan.
“Laser Michael Jackson was one [show] where faculty and students were
coming by my office going, ‘when are you going to bring this back? We
used to play it all the time. It was great, and we’d love to see it
again.'” Barraclough said. “People are really excited that the shows are
back.”
“Laser Michael Jackson” will continue its run with three more showings Nov. 4, 11, and 18. All shows start at 7 p.m.