10/07/2026
Thalian Hall is delighted to invite you to experience a moving panorama on the Main Stage for the first time since the 19th century! ๐ค On October 16th & 17th, we will be hosting a two events to welcome a panorama back to Hall, including the World Premiere performance of Alluvial River (by Justin Lacy) and Fall Community Day!
In the 1800s, one of the most popular forms of entertainment was the panoramic painting, which involved huge canvases that were slowly unfurled before audiences, revealing distant landscapes, cities, and dramatic events in sequence. Thalian Hall has acquired a replica of one such panorama, depicting one of the most popular subjects of the old scrolling paintings: the Mississippi River.๐๏ธ
This panorama was generously donated and restored by Dr. Wendy Waszut-Barrett, a global expert of panoramas and theatre history. Artists C. Lance Brockman and Janet Ryger based their sprawling, more-than-100-foot-long seamless imagery on mid-1800s landscape sketches and paintings. ๐จ
On October 16, 2026, Wilmington musician, writer, and composer Justin Lacy will accompany the panorama in song with the premiere of Alluvial River, an original musical voyage along the Mississippi, commissioned by Thalian Hall. ๐ผ๐
Join us for the festivities October 16 & 17!