Thalia Mara Hall
About Us
Thalia Mara Hall is the Municipal Auditorium of the City of Jackson and a facility managed by the Department of Human and Cultural Services. The 2,040 seat theater is located in the downtown arts and cultural district of Jackson. Thalia Mara Hall was built in 1968 and was called the Jackson Municipal Auditorium. In 1975, the Jackson Ballet Guild invited Miss Thalia Mara, a Chicago native with an extensive career as a performer in the United States and abroad, to develop a professional ballet company and school in the state of Mississippi.
In 1979, as part of her development plan, Mara secured the International Ballet Competition (IBC) for the City of Jackson. By an act of the United States Congress, Jackson was named the official USA home of the IBC. The competition is held quadrennially at Thalia Mara Hall. In 1994, the Jackson City Council voted to rename the Jackson Municipal Auditorium “Thalia Mara Hall.”
Currently under its new leadership, Thalia Mara Hall has boasted a 35% increase in revenue and nearly 100,000 visitors from its 2018-2019 performance season, with show-stopping productions like Les Miserables, Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Final Play, The Price is Right, and performances by Mavis Staples, Cindy Lauper, Maxwell, Kevin Gates, and 85 South- grossing $300,000 in annual revenue for the first time in its history.
In the past year, our performing arts theatre has served as host to over 74 performances and events representing 26 genres and seven types of special events. Everyone from Maxwell to Madea packed the house for an electric year of entertainment.
This year, the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra celebrates 75 outstanding seasons at Thalia Mara Hall. This season will include a tribute to Aretha Franklin as the first in the Symphony’s Pops Series and will close with a spectacular performance of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, featuring five area-university choirs.
The 2019-2020 Broadway in Jackson series will kick off with the classic, Fiddler on the Roof followed by the popular musical Cats for two nights and two newer productions – Beautiful: A Carole King Musical and An American in Paris.
For the Jackson LIVE! Series, the following productions will be featured: We Will Rock You: A Queen Musical in October, two nights of The Color Purple in November, Cirque Dreams: Holidaze in December, and two nights of crowd-favorite The Blue Man Group.
In its 55th year, Ballet Mississippi will stage the holiday classic, The Nutcracker, led by David Keary, who celebrates 25 years with the company.
And, Ardenland has announced upcoming performances from Christian rock artist, Switchfoot, rock cover band legend, Black Jacket Symphony featuring the music of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, and the return of Disney Junior.
Thalia Mara Hall has been pleased to provide to the citizens of Jackson and visitors a venue for education and entertainment by a variety of locally, nationally, and internationally known performers and personalities—including ballet, opera and symphony performances; plays; concerts; and presentations by local performing arts organizations.
The Auditorium is available for rental to profit and not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) organizations, for theater-style performances and suitable special events.