It’s not your normal ‘Messiah’

This “Messiah” gets theatrical and goes time-tripping.

Dazzling lights will illuminate fully costumed members of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh acting out allegorical scenes set in non-linear fashion in the 1950s, 2011 and turn-of-the-20th-century.

The Pittsburgh Symphony, hunkered down in the orchestra pit, will set the mood for the multilayered religious story, performing melodies George Frideric Handel penned in 1741.

“’Messiah’ is one of the most important and popular works, so people are asking the question: ‘Why do it this way?’” Pittsburgh Symphony Music Director Manfred Honeck said. “Well, there’s another question: Why not?”

Honeck believes this never-before-done version, set on American soil in familiar times, gives people a fresh, contemporary way to reflect on Handel’s time-honored tale of the birth, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“After dress rehearsal last night one of the choir’s members, who has performed ‘Messiah’ every year, three or four times a year, told me, ‘Now I see “Messiah” from a different angle,” Honeck said.

The traditional “Messiah,” a Christmastime staple for orchestras and choirs, usually involves singers standing in place when performing.

The Pittsburgh Symphony and Mendelssohn Choir have given the show a modern spin in previous years with a sing-along version of “Messiah” in which spectators were encouraged to join in on vocals.

Desiring a more operatic version this year, Honeck asked acclaimed New York and Boston opera-theater director Sam Helfrich if he could script a new twist on the customary “Messiah.

“I said, ‘My God, of course,’” Helfrich said. “How often do you get this fantastic of an opportunity to do something as unique as this?”

Helfrich fashioned an Act I that ends with a somewhat whimsical dance routine that’s a mix between a jig and a boot-scootin’ boogie. The darker Act II has a scene that calls to mind the Jets-vs.-Sharks showdown in “West Side Story.”

The choir members seem to be enjoying the opportunity to move around on stage, Helfrich said.

“I think they’re doing a phenomenal job,” Helfrich said. “Everyone is just embracing it. There’s a death and devastation scene where I asked for volunteers to spread across the stage and die, essentially. It’s done in slow motion that’s meant to be very stylized, and everyone just went for it.”