A Taste of Broadway at Jackson State

Jun 21st, 2012

Covington native and former math instructor at Jackson State Community College (JSCC), Jack Hadley, has taken the time to share a bit of Broadway history with the Jackson community by allowing JSCC to display many of his very colorful posters and playbill magazines from numerous Broadway shows in the JSCC Library. The exhibit resides in the display cases in the front lobby and in the hallway leading to the Writing Center.

I had attended numerous amateur productions in college and at JSCC, but a road company of A Chorus Line at the Orpheum in Memphis made me want to experience the real thing in New York City, said Hadley. I have been going to NYC for almost thirty years.I did not start collecting posters until 2000 when a poster of 'Kiss Me, Kate' signed by the complete cast was offered for sale to raise funds for Broadway Cares.

The pieces are from shows that vary from 'Ghosts: the Musical' to 'Spiderman: Turn off the Dark.' Many of the posters don autographs from the cast of the historical performances.

When asked about his favorite performance to date, Hadley said, There were two shows that I would classify as favorites Les Miserables andMiss Siagon.Both had long runs on Broadway, and I saw them on each of my trips while they were there. Both have interesting stories to tell and both get you emotionally involved with the characters.

When asked about his favorite poster, Hadley replied, Several of the posters have interesting back stories how long it took me to get signatures, how accommodating some of the performers were, etc.As far as composition is concerned, Swan Lakeis my favorite.The menacing eyes over the dark water and the combination of colors makes it my favorite.

The entire community is invited to visit the JSCC campus to view this interesting display through July 31. Library hours in the summer are: Monday-Wednesday7:30 a.m.- 7:45 p.m.; Thursdays7:30 a.m.- 6:15 p.m.; and Fridays7:30 a.m.- 4:15 p.m.

For more information, contact Scott Cohen, JSCC Library Director at 731-425-2615 or at scohen@jscc.edu.



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