The first full-scale production of the show, directed by Paige Parsons-Wax, was mounted at Louisiana State University in 1999. Taranto conducted the orchestra, and Wax played one of the secondary roles. Two months later, there were two concert performances, one in Lafayette and the other at the Strand Theatre in Shreveport. The latter was taped by Louisiana Public Broadcasting and, in October 2000, aired on PBS stations throughout the United States and Canada. The PBS production starred Ana Maria Andricain as Evangeline, Rod Weber as Gabriel, and Andre Chapoy as Father Felician, backed by the Centenary College Choir, the Texas Street Singers, and the Children's Choir of the Episcopal School of Baton Rouge.