Jackson arts leaders frustrated by city communication with Thalia Mara Hall shutdown
Stakeholders adjust, hope for better communication going forward
Jackson, Mississippi — Jackson arts leaders unite in their plea for direct and more timely communication from city of Jackson officials about the shutdown of Thalia Mara Hall and hope for a stronger partnership and better coordination as problems are resolved.
Discovery of mold in the building in August forced the temporary closure of Thalia Mara Hall, the city’s premier performing arts venue, for an unspecified time. The move left Jackson arts nonprofits in a late scramble for alternative spaces to fulfill long-planned performances that are seasonal staples in the community.
“The arts are at the center of the heart and soul of life in Mississippi,” said Mississippi Symphony Orchestra (MSO) President and Executive Director Jenny Mann. MSO, Thalia Mara Hall’s most frequent user with 34 days a year in the auditorium for orchestral, pops and student education concerts plus rehearsals, is particularly hard hit as it enters its 80th anniversary season.
“Thalia Mara Hall is the main space for all of us in this area. Without the space, we can’t do what we do, and the city has not communicated with arts leaders at all,” Mann said. “We really need them to be a partner with us.”
Lack of even a tentative timeframe for repairs compounded frustration with developments that left them out of the loop. A recent city press release noting the move of “major shows” to a venue unsuitable for most arts programming further confused arts groups and their patrons.
Ballet Mississippi marks its 60th anniversary season this year, and The Nutcracker is its biggest production and annual showcase for a strong and vibrant ballet school. The production now must be minimized to fit the smaller venue of Jackson Prep’s Fortenberry Theatre. “That’s a tall order. It really creates a new vision and I’m wracking my brain right now,” Ballet Mississippi Executive Artistic Director David Keary said. As for Thalia Mara Hall, “We all need it to be repaired — all of it.
“We’re all just disappointed. It’s frustrating,” Keary said. “Things do happen. Parts wear out. But we do need better communication with the city.”
Ballet Magnificat! Executive Director Keith Thibodeaux said, “We kind of adapt, as any arts group needs to do right now.” Its Christmas season offering Light Has Come has also shifted to Jackson Prep. He lamented that Ballet Magnificat! was not directly informed of the hall’s shutdown. “We’re on the calendar. They didn’t even give us a call. We had to find out through the grapevine.”
Opera Mississippi Artistic Director Jay Dean joined a few others in concern over facility maintenance issues over the years, as well as the shutdown. “It’s so disappointing to me, when you have a facility that has so many wonderful arts events of all types… that the city does not seem to put the resources into those facilities to sustain them to the point where they can continue to have a life.”
Xperience JXN Entertainment owner Yolanda Singleton produces about four shows there a year, but her efforts this summer to contract a Leela James concert for the hall met with moved dates, information delays and her own frustrating attempts to find answers. “It’s been quite difficult,” she said, fearing the situation has damaged her hard-won, 30-year reputation with booking agents in an industry where women are in the minority.
“I’m saddened because Jackson has so many opportunities that we miss out on,” Singleton said, “and it seems like it’s down to poor leadership, negligence and abandonment. And, I’m frustrated because the citizens of Jackson deserve better.”
MSO’s Mann praised community efforts in helping find alternate locations and hopes to announce within the week the new venues for MSO concerts in the season’s first half. Dates and repertoire will not change. “We still have hope we’ll be in Thalia Mara Hall for the second half,” she said.
CITY OF JACKSON news updates
about Thalia Mara Hall are available online.
C O N T A C T S :
Mississippi Symphony Orchestra – Jenny Mann jmann@msorchestra.com
Ballet Mississippi – David Keary keary@balletms.com
Opera Mississippi – Jay Dean jay.dean@usm.edu
Ballet Magnificat – Keith Thibodeaux keith@balletmagnificat.com
Xperience JXN Entertainment – Yolanda Singleton xperiencejxn@gmail.com