There are Halloween traditions, and then there’s The Nightmare Before Christmas at the Hollywood Bowl, an annual rite that makes October in Los Angeles feel like a spectacle. This year, Danny Elfman's beloved concert screening celebrates a decade since it first materialized at the Bowl, and for its 12th and 13th incarnations, it’s coming back louder, bigger and more gloriously ghoulish than ever.
On Saturday, October 25, and Sunday, October 26, the Bowl transforms into Halloween Town, with Elfman once more donning Jack Skellington's striped suit. Watching the man who composed the score, wrote the lyrics and voiced the Pumpkin King slip back into the role is a truly remarkable sight. This year, he’s joined by a star-studded cast that proves the show’s status as a cultural event: Janelle Monáe as Sally, Keith David returning as Oogie Boogie (imagine velvet dipped in menace), John Stamos as Lock, and Riki Lindhome back as Shock.
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As Elfman said in a statement: "I guess it’s safe to say this is becoming a Halloween tradition by now. That makes me so happy. I can’t wait to see all the Halloween freaks, monsters, gods and goddesses to celebrate together!"
The cast list changes, but the structure of the event doesn't. The film plays in full on massive screens, with visuals projected across the Bowl itself, while John Mauceri returns to conduct a full orchestra and choir through Elfman’s iconic score. If you want a reminder of why this film’s songs endure, hearing them played at full tilt by a Hollywood Bowl orchestra will do it.
But half the fun is what happens before the concert even begins. Each night, the Bowl becomes a carnival of Tim Burtonesque cosplay, with pre-show trick-or-treating, photo ops and a costume contest.
Tickets go on sale Friday, September 5, at 10am PT, with presales on sale now. Expect a rush: Past editions have sold out quickly, with demand so high that the Bowl has added a third performance in 2016, 2018 and 2023.
Los Angeles doesn’t always do tradition well; our landmarks vanish, our restaurants evaporate and our cultural rituals can feel imported rather than homegrown. But The Nightmare Before Christmas at the Hollywood Bowl is different. It’s become an essential L.A. event, drawing Burton fans, Elfman obsessives and people who just like to scream-sing “This Is Halloween” alongside thousands of other adults in plastic fangs.