WSO: The Adventures of J.S. Box

680 CJOB is excited to welcome the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra to Centennial Concert Hall on Sunday, November 24 for The Adventures of J.S. Box!

The Adventures of J. S. Box is a fun-filled journey into the world of childhood playtime and imagination with Mr Mark. A castle, a car, a crazy robot, the possibilities are endless when you’re inspired by the classical music of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and one J.S. Box.

In the words of Mr Mark:

The Adventures of J.S. Box is a show that tells the story of all the wonderful things done with my childhood friend, a “Jumbo Sized” cardboard box named J.S. Box, or JS for short. As in all my productions, I aim to celebrate my love of music, family, and childhood using my particular mixture of silly physical comedy and intelligent humour. In the show, I explain that when I was a kid, we didn’t have iPads or iPods; in fact, the only thing we had that began with the letter “i” was our imagination! On one particular day, we got a new fridge, and before they left, the movers decided to leave me the jumbo-sized box it came in. With that, J.S. Box was born !

It is with our imaginations and JS that the audience, the orchestra, and I set out on adventures where J.S. Box is transformed with each symphonic piece. He performs a magic show, becomes a cuckoo clock, and even flies like a hot air balloon! All is fantastic until an angry robot bursts onto the stage, reducing JS into a pile of ripped-up cardboard! The audience and I are in shock and saddened by the apparent demise of our good friend until, out of the rubble, I find a piece of cardboard with a recycling symbol, and we realize that JS is part of every box. All we need is our imagination to bring him back to life.

Throughout these adventures, the consistent message is that armed with the power of our imaginations, the magic of music, and a simple cardboard box, any of us can transform our everyday world into a fabulous wonderland full of adventure, excitement, empathy, love, and laughter.