How Wynton Marsalis and “Louis” reminded me that the best immersive experiences bring people together
Last week, I experienced something that challenged everything I thought I knew about immersive entertainment. At Seattle’s historic Paramount Theatre, I watched Louis, a silent film about young Louis Armstrong’s childhood in 1907 New Orleans, accompanied by a live performance from jazz legend Wynton Marsalis and his 11-piece ensemble.
The Art of Revival: When Old Becomes New Again
Director Dan Pritzker deliberately crafted Louis as a modern homage to Charlie Chaplin’s silent films, complete with intertitles, physical comedy, and that distinctive slightly-sped-up cinematography. Shot by Oscar-winning cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond in gorgeous sepia tones, the film tells the mythical story of six-year-old Louis Armstrong navigating the colorful streets of New Orleans’ Storyville district.
But calling this a “silent film” is almost a misnomer. The real magic happens when Marsalis takes the stage.
Live Performance as Immersive Technology
What struck me most was how the live musical accompaniment transformed the entire cinema experience. Marsalis doesn’t just play background music – his compositions become a real-time conversation with the visuals on screen. His trumpet solos respond to the action, while pianist Cecile Licad’s interpretations of 19th-century composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk pieces provide emotional depth that no pre-recorded soundtrack could match.
The audience becomes part of the performance itself. You can feel the collective intake of breath during dramatic moments, hear the appreciative murmurs during particularly impressive musical passages, and sense the shared energy as 2,000 people experience something truly unique together.
Lessons for Modern Immersive Design
As someone who works in immersive experience design and interactive technology, this performance taught me several crucial lessons:
1. Scarcity Creates Value
Louis toured only 11 cities on the West Coast, with just one performance per venue. This wasn’t artificial scarcity – it was meaningful rarity born from the logistical complexity of coordinating live musicians with film projection. That limitation made the experience feel genuinely special.
2. Live Performance Beats Perfect Technology
Despite having access to cutting-edge audio and visual technology, the most memorable moments came from the imperfect, human elements: a slight timing variation in the music, Marsalis’s spontaneous embellishments, the palpable energy between musicians. These “flaws” made the experience more engaging than any perfectly synchronized digital presentation could.
3. Community Trumps Isolation
While VR and AR technologies excel at creating personalized experiences, they often isolate users from one another. Louis reminded me that shared presence – breathing the same air, hearing the same acoustics, feeling the same energy – creates emotional connections that individual headsets simply can’t replicate.
The Future of Immersive Entertainment
This experience challenges the assumption that newer technology always creates better experiences. Here’s a century-old art form being revitalized in ways that feel more immersive than many cutting-edge digital installations I’ve encountered.
The film industry has largely moved away from live musical accompaniment, but experiences like Louis suggest there’s still appetite for this kind of hybrid entertainment. It points toward a future where immersive experiences might blend digital innovation with live human performance, creating moments that are both technologically sophisticated and deeply human.
Key Takeaways for Experience Designers
- Don’t abandon analog elements – Live performance, physical interaction, and human presence can enhance rather than compete with digital technology
- Design for community – The best immersive experiences bring people together rather than isolating them
- Embrace imperfection – Live, unrepeatable moments often create stronger emotional connections than perfectly polished digital experiences
- Consider the full sensory experience – Acoustics, lighting, venue atmosphere, and human energy all contribute to immersion
Looking Forward
As we develop increasingly sophisticated AR/VR and interactive technologies, experiences like Louis remind us not to lose sight of what makes entertainment truly memorable: shared human connection, live performance energy, and the irreplaceable magic of being present together in the same space and time.
Sometimes the most innovative path forward involves rediscovering what we’ve always known works – and finding new ways to blend that wisdom with modern capabilities.