Barco Escape to show Lady Gaga, Tony Bennett concert in theaters

Barco, the giant cinema technology company, is hoping Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett will lend some star power to its new panoramic theater system.

Last week, Barco unveiled its 270-degree panoramic theater screen experience that uses three screens and multiple projectors to put audiences in the middle of the action.

The system, dubbed Barco Escape, debuted in a small number of Cinemark theaters with the release of Fox movie “The Maze Runner.”

This week the Belgium-based company will announce another venture to promote its new technology.

Barco will collaborate with Universal Music/Interscope Records and recording artists Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga to bring their performance at the Grand Palace in Brussels into Barco Escape theaters in early 2015.

The performance will be filmed today specifically for the Barco format, the day before Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga’s “Cheek to Cheek” album of jazz and popular standards is set to release worldwide.

“To me, going to the cinema is a magical experience, but with so many entertainment options available, not everyone thinks about movies that way anymore,” said Todd Hoddick, vice president of Global Cinema for Barco.

Hoddick developed Barco Escape with Ted Schilowitz, a founding member of Red Digital Cinema, maker of the widely used low-cost digital Red Camera.

While it’s not cheap -- the system costs $120,000 to $150,000 to install in theaters -- Barco believes theater goers are hungry for technology that gives them new reason to go to the multiplex. Theaters have been offering moving seats, extra wide screens, dine-in-theater options and live concerts as a way to lure patrons.

“Whether it’s a movie, a concert, video gaming or something else, the Barco Escape experience gives audiences something they can’t get anywhere but at their local cinema,” Hoddick said.

Twitter: @rverrier