To celebrate our 25th Anniversary, we brought in Broadway talent from around the country to perform for our Gala and Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
Titled 25 Years on Broadway, the November 3rd awards show paralleled twenty-five years of history of the College, with twenty-five years of celebrated Broadway musicals. The performance will be built around the inductees and chronicle key years in the history of the College.
Being inducted into the first class of the Mid-South Hall of Fame are: Mr. Solon Anthony, Mr. William Barbour, Jr., Dr. Barbara Baxter, Mr. Alex Coulter, Dr. Glen Fenter, Mr. Thomas Goldsby, Jr., Mr. William Ingram, Sr., Mr. Lloyd McCuiston, Jr., Mr. A.B. Smith, Jr., and Rev. Mary Toney.
Made possible by the Rockie Smith Endowment for the Arts at ASU Mid-South, the show headlines two acclaimed musicians, both originally from Mississippi and now residing in Las Vegas, Nevada. Philip Fortenberry, an acclaimed piano virtuoso, and Keith Thompson, an award winning composer and musical director are producing the event along with the Foundation at ASU Mid-South.
Philip Fortenberry, pianist, has played for ten Broadway shows including Cats, Jesus Christ Superstar, Saturday Night Fever, and The Lion King. He toured the U.S. and Canada in concert performances of The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and has performed in concerts from Lincoln Center to Carnegie Hall, from the Kennedy Center to the White House. His one-man show, The Man at the Piano, continues to play to sold-out houses around the country and he toured through China his solo concert, Salute to Broadway, in August of 2018. Philip was the piano double for Michael Douglas’ award-winning performance as Liberace in the HBO biopic, Behind the Candelabra.
Keith Thompson’s New York credits include Les Misérable, When Pigs Fly, Sideshow Three Men and a Horse, Forbidden Broadway and Little Shop of Horrors. He won the 2000 Dora Award as musical director for Cabaret in Toronto. He also conducted the first National tour of Mamma Mia! as well as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat starring Donny Osmond. Other U.S. tours include the 25th anniversary tour of HAIR, Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby, Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson, and The Music of Andrew Lloyd Webber, an orchestra concert tour that featured Sarah Brightman.
Fortenberry and Thompson will be joined by four talented vocalists from all over the US to bring us an exciting performance as we celebrate 25 years of memories on Broadway.
