Photos provided by Patrick Gipson/Ravinia Festival

Looking for a virtual visit to Ravinia that doesn’t require leaving the couch or curious about an obscure musical from one of America’s otherwise most exalted composers? Check both off the bucket list on Friday, May 15 at 9 p.m. when the venue’s ambitious re-staging of Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass” comes in all its grandeur to PBS’ “Great Performances” series on WTTW, Channel 11.

Filmed during the second of two seasons celebrating the centennial of the man behind “West Side Story” and so much more, the musical features more than 200 performers, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Vocality, an ensemble of street singers and even high school marching bands winding their way from the lawn into the pavilion.

In addition to the main event, a virtual panel discussion comes to Ravinia’s Facebook page that same evening at 8:15 p.m. featuring Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman, Chief Conductor and Curator Marin Alsop, Tony Award-winning singer/actor Paulo Szot (who starred as the Celebrant in “Mass”), Chicago Children’s Choir Artistic Director Josephine Lee and Highland Park High School Band Director Joshua Chodoroff, along with WFMT Vice President and General Manager George Preston as moderator.

“When we saw the result, we knew we had to not only capture it for posterity, but also to share it with the world,” summed up Kauffman during an announcement for the broadcast. “The coincidence that this show—about the loss and restoration of faith in times of crisis—will be broadcast in the midst of a global pandemic adds a heart-breaking immediacy to this long-dormant masterpiece.”

“That said, viewers shouldn’t be fooled by the title. This is not a sermon, nor is it a sacred work like Verdi’s ‘Requiem.’ It’s more in line with ‘Hair’ and ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ as a contemporary musical facing contemporary questions with wit, intelligence, and beautiful music.”

Ravinia’s production of Leonard Bernstein’s “Mass” airs on May 15 at 9 p.m. as part of PBS’s “Great Performances” series. For additional details, visit PBS.org/wnet/gperf/ and Ravinia.org.

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