TPA Offers Virtual Benefit Concert ‘Christopher Jackson: Live From the West Side’

Texas Performing Arts (TPA) announced that it’s one of a select group of nonprofit arts organizations participating in the livestream concert event, Christopher Jackson: Live from the West Side on Saturday, August 15 at 7 p.m. CST. Jackson is a Grammy and Emmy Award winning songwriter/composer and a Tony Award nominated actor best known for originating the role of George Washington in the cultural phenomenon Hamilton. Tickets for Christopher Jackson: Live from the West Side are on sale now.

Tickets are $40 per household and are available at Texasperformingarts.org. Tickets include access to the livestream performance plus an additional 72 hours of on-demand viewing of a video recording of the livestream, available beginning one hour after the live broadcast ends. Proceeds from ticket sales will support Texas Performing Arts’ reopening and recovery efforts.

“Nonprofit arts presenters are the lifeblood of the performing arts industry and a pipeline for young talent. Without them there is no Broadway,” said Jackson. “While everything is shut down during this terrible pandemic, I am delighted to be able to help spread some joy and help raise some much needed support for these deserving organizations.”

Jackson’s Broadway credits include Holler if Ya Hear Me, After Midnight, The Bronx Bombers (Derek Jeter), In The Heights (Benny), Memphis (Delray Farrell) and The Lion King (Simba). Off Broadway includes Bronx Bombers (Primary Stages), The Jammer (Atlantic Theater Co.), Lonely, I’m Not (Second Stage), In the Heights (37 Arts), and Cotton Club Parade (ENCORES at City Center). In film and TV, he has appeared in Freestyle Love Supreme (Pivot Network) Person of Interest, A Gifted Man, Fringe, Gossip Girl, Tracers, and Afterlife. 

Accompanied by a live band, Jackson will be performing songs from his favorite musicals, pop standards, and some of his original material, and will share stories from his time affiliated with two of the most important musicals of the last decade In The Heights and Hamilton. Audience members will also be invited to text in questions, some of which will be answered during the live event.

“We’re happy to bring Austin’s Broadway fans this unique opportunity to experience a great performer live on screen from New York” noted Texas Performing Arts Executive Director Bob Bursey. “While we can’t experience the power of performance together in person, an interactive live concert specifically for Austin and selected other communities around the country is the next best thing.”

The livestream, which is a co-production of Dallas Summer Musicals and Entertainment Benefits Group, is being shared by a number of nonprofit arts presenters around the country. The event will take place at New York’s New World Stages, the off-Broadway venue that has housed productions of Jersey Boys, Avenue Q and many others.

Texas Performing Arts is the performing arts presenting program of The University of Texas at Austin and operates campus venues including Bass Concert Hall and McCullough Theatre, and is the home of the Lexus Broadway in Austin series. In calendar year 2019 Bass Concert Hall had the highest number of tickets sold of any theater in Austin, was #2 in the State of Texas and #22 in the world, according to industry publication Pollstar. Following a national search, Tony Award-winning producer Bob Bursey was appointed Executive Director in January, 2020.