‘The Simpsons’ Perform Live at the Hollywood Bowl

The biggest live event in the 25-year history of The Simpsons took place last week, and the turnout – be it characters, cast members, or fans – was astounding.

Voice actors Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, and Hank Azaria were hosts for “The Simpsons Take the Bowl” at the famous Hollywood venue on this past weekend, an extravaganza that featured music, stars, and reminiscences from the iconic program.

Conan O’Brien may have stolen the show, singing “The Monorail Song,” from the classic episode he wrote, filing in for the original vocalist, dearly departed Phil Hartman. O’Brien was backed by members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles, which also performed a rendition of “Spider Pig,” from “The Simpsons Movie.”

The chorus members followed those two ditties by tearing away their robes to reveal sequined vests, a natural lead-in to “See My Vest,” a throwback to Season 6’s “Two-Dozen-and-One Greyhounds.”

Jon Lovitz also performed a tribute to the Hartman by covering a tune from “Stop the Planet of the Apes, I Want to Get Off.”

Other special guests included series creator Matt Groening, “Weird Al” Yankovic, Beverly D’Angelo, Tony Hawk, and composer Hans Zimmer, who performed the music from his Oscar-nominated Simpsons short, “The Longest Daycare.”

Clips from classic episodes played on huge screens above the stage, along with new “Simpsons” animations created specifically for the two-hour concert – including scenes of the Simpson family arriving at the event, and Homer attempting to resist pushing the fireworks button.  Of course they were launched (courtesy of Maggie) in the cartoon, with real ones lighting up the sky above the Bowl.

The spectacular was an enormously successful celebration of the longest-running scripted show in TV history, a series that seems to have existed forever, and hopefully will continue for as long as possible.

Or, as Weird Al put it in his performance of “Homer & Marge” (a spoof of John Mellencamp’s “Jack and Diane,” which was first heard in a Season 14 episode): “Oh yeah, ‘The Simpsons’ will go on, long after the human race is gone.”