1776 at Playmakers Theater thru July 7 When 1776 opened on Broadway in 1969, it was a turbulent time. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy had been assassinated less than a year earlier. The Vietnam War was raging. Nixon had just been inaugurated that January. A musical dramedy about the signing of the Declaration of Independence did … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards July 2, 2019
Everybody’s Talking About Bianca
Surreal. That’s how it felt sitting in one of the most historic West End theaters and watching New Orleans’ own Roy Haylock perform in a hit musical. And when he entered in drag and got huge applause from the adoring sold-out house--even more surreal. Anyone who remembers when Bianca Del Rio hosted Drag Bingo at Oz would probably feel the same way. It’s also a word … [Read more...] about Everybody’s Talking About Bianca
Trodding the Boards June 18, 2019
Much Ado About Nothing at Tulane’s Lupin Theater through June 30 If you’ve never seen Much Ado About Nothing, you might want to head to Tulane’s Lupin Theater for the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival’s opening production of their 26th season. As is often the case at NOSF, Director Burton Tedesco gives us a mostly straightforward rendering of one of the Bard’s most … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards June 18, 2019
Trodding the Boards June 4, 2019
How to Kill a Diva at Westwego Performing Arts Theatre through June 9 Chris Wecklein starred as Max Bialystok in The Producers for the Jefferson Performing Arts Society (JPAS) nearly 10 years ago, winning an Ambie Award as Best Actor in a Musical for his performance. If Max Bialystok were around today he might consider presenting How to Kill a Diva, in which Wecklein is … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards June 4, 2019
Trodding the Boards March 5, 2018
As One at Marigny Opera House After many years of four-opera seasons, New Orleans Opera has been expanding its programming, commendably, with its Chamber Opera Series. In 2016, NOO presented Brundibár, a children’s opera that had been performed in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, in a memorable, fully staged production at the WWII Museum. Earlier this year at the … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards March 5, 2018
Trodding the Boards
Escape to Margaritaville at the Saenger Theatre It’s not often that we in New Orleans get to weigh in on a show before it heads to Broadway. Sure, The Bodyguard stopped by earlier this year, but that doesn’t look like it’ll ever make it to New York. Escape to Margaritaville, however, will with a planned March 15 opening at the Marquis Theatre. How long it will stay there … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards
Trodding the Boards
Orpheus in the Underworld at the Mahalia Jackson Theater In New Orleans Opera’s first-ever production of Jacques Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld, Orpheus may have wound up in Hell but, for the audience, it was pure Heaven. Hector-Jonathan Crémieux and Ludovic Halévy’s libretto satirizes the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus. Their frothy plot features Gods revolting … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards
Trodding the Boards
Bridget Everett and Murray Hill--Live in New Orleans! at One Eyed Jacks Thanks to Presenter Daniel Nardicio, Bridget Everett and Murray Hill, two mainstays of New York’s alt-cabaret scene, recently made their joint New Orleans debut at a packed One Eyed Jacks. Everett, star of the indie dramedy Patti Cake$ and Amazon’s Love You More, exploded onto the stage with one of her … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards
Trodding the Boards
On the Road--Motown, Mo’ Better Now I hadn’t been to Detroit in fifteen years. I have cousins in one of its suburbs and a friend in Ann Arbor. Its Black Pride Festival, Hotter Than July!, is held the last weekend of that month. So last year I figured why not visit for a long weekend getaway from New Orleans’ summer heat’n’humidity. I’m happy I did. The previous time I was … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards
Champion Terence Blanchard
Google “Movies about boxers” and dozens of titles come up. Google “Operas about boxers” and one title appears. Google “Movies about gay boxers” and there are still a half-dozen titles. Google “Operas about gay boxers” and the same title that popped up before reappears. That opera is Champion by New Orleans native and multiple Grammy Award winner Terence Blanchard which New … [Read more...] about Champion Terence Blanchard
