Gala Concert + CSO: Mancini at 100 with Jessie Mueller, Norm Lewis & Karen Mason

“He’s not just at the top of the game, he’s defined what the game is!” The measure of legacy takes many forms—say, 4× Oscars (from 18 nominations), 20× Grammys (from 72), and a Golden Globe, or being a “first,” like the first Album of the Year Grammy winner. Perhaps instant recognition from a four-note motif. Yet that only scratches the surface of the film and television music of Henry Mancini, who would be 100 this year and is the prism for this 58th Ravinia Gala Benefit Evening.

Actor and director Rob Lindley returns as curator and host of the concert following our 2022-highlight tribute to Stephen Sondheim, whose superlative nods equally to Mancini. Longtime Broadway music director Kevin Stites also returns to conduct the CSO in the magnificent themes, from Peter Gunn to The Pink Panther to “Moon River.” The songs will come courtesy of Broadway stars Jessie Mueller (original Jenna in Waitress, Tony winner in the title role of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), Norm Lewis (first African American in the title role of Phantom of the Opera, as Javert in Les Misérables on Broadway), and Karen Mason (Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard, original Tanya in Mamma Mia!).