It’s showtime! MSO revels in the richness of Broadway
Pops concert captures the essence of Tony Award-winning musicals
Jackson, Mississippi – Sept. 28, 2022 — The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra launches its Pops series October 22 with a showcase of music from some of America’s favorite and most celebrated musicals, 7:30 p.m. at Thalia Mara Hall.
MSO’s “Broadway Beyond Words” concert spotlights music that’s swept theater audiences off their feet for decades, from My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Porgy and Bess and The Sound of Music.
“It’s essentially Broadway without the singers,” said MSO Maestro Crafton Beck. In these symphonic portraits, the shows’ original scores have been outfitted for a far bigger orchestra than you’d ever find in a live theater setting.
“This presents the ‘greatest hits’ of these shows exclusively with the orchestra front and center,” Beck said.
“A lot of people will be surprised how good this music is on its own,” said Jenny Mann, MSO president and executive director. “When we listen to musicals and we attend Broadway, of course you focus on the singers, and they’re doing amazing things, but the music behind them — especially with Bernstein and Gershwin — these composers are the pinnacle composers of Broadway music.
“This concert is a wonderful opportunity for people who are lovers of Broadway to learn more about the music of Broadway, hearing it without the voices. They’ll be able to connect on a deeper level,” Mann said. For those who aren’t already Broadway fans, “This is a great way for them to be introduced to it.”
MSO’s Pops series presents the great range of commercial and popular songs of the cultural landscape, balancing styles from rock to Motown, jazz to blues, and Hollywood films to Broadway musicals. Pops programming is one more way MSO provides a full range of musical choices each season, serving the great wealth of tastes and backgrounds in its audiences and its Mississippi community.
Tickets for the October 22 “Broadway Beyond Words” concert are $29 and up for adults, and $5 for any student with valid ID. Find tickets and more information online at www.msorchestra.com. The Thalia Mara box office will open at 6:30 p.m. on the evening of the concert. This season is supported in part by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency.
What: Broadway Beyond Words, MSO Pops Series concert
Who: Mississippi Symphony Orchestra
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday, October 22, 2022
Where: Thalia Mara Hall, 255 E. Pascagoula St. Jackson