Brian Sands

Critics’ Choice Gay Appreciation Award On behalf of Tony Leggio and myself, I am pleased to announce the nominees for the Critics’ Choice Award that will be presented as part of the 33rd Gay Appreciation Awards (GAA). They are: The Baltimore Waltz produced by Fat Squirrel Big Freedia with the LPO presented by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra Little Shop of … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards July 11, 2023

New in New York If you’re heading up to New York for July 4th, or any other time this summer, I wish I could recommend a bunch of new theatrical offerings for you to enjoy. Alas, that is not the case (and more on that later). What has blossomed, in many cases just since I was last up there in April, is a plethora of worthy exhibits at museums throughout Manhattan. If you … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards June 27, 2023

The Baltimore Waltz at Gallier Hall’s Ty Tracy Theatre through June 22 I know I saw The Baltimore Waltz when it was done at the CAC in the 1990s. I just can’t remember who directed or acted in it or much else about the production (googling didn’t help). Just that it left me kinda cold. I don’t think that will happen with Fat Squirrel’s production of Paula Vogel’s dramedy, … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards June 13, 2023

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time at Le Petit through June 4 Comparisons are odious. That said, after I saw The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time on Broadway in 2014, I described it as “a wondrous coming of age show about an autistic/math genius teenager” and encouraged "everyone" to go see it. I had a more muted response to the Curious … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards May 28, 2023

How I Learned What I Learned at Le Petit through May 7 If you’ve enjoyed such plays as Fences, The Piano Lesson or Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and want to learn what went into their creation and, more broadly, what forces shaped playwright August Wilson, head to Le Petit for How I Learned What I Learned, Wilson’s memoir in monologue written and originally performed by the late … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards May 2, 2023

Big Freedia Live With the LPO at the Orpheum Theater Scheduling challenges caused me to attend the dress rehearsal for Big Freedia Live With the LPO so it would be unfair to write a full review of the show. Let’s just say it was a great idea to bring together these two beloved New Orleans cultural ambassadors who combined for a fabulous evening in which each one’s talents … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards April 18, 2023

Drapetomania: A Negro Carol at the André Cailloux Center through April 30 No Dream Deferred (NDD) is a community-anchored theater production company, founded in 2016. It presented its first show, Tarell Alvin McCraney's In the Red & Brown Water, at the Beaubourg Theatre in the CBD in the fall of 2019. Its second presentation was to have been Robert O’Hara’s Bootycandy; … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards April 4, 2023

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Le Petit through April 2 Night of the Iguana at Loyola’s Lower Depths Theatre New Orleans generally sees an uptick in production s of Tennessee Williams plays in March as the dramatist’s birthday falls on the 26th of the month. Hence, the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival blossoms each year around this time and, with it, presentations of his … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards March 21, 2023

White at NOMA's Lapis Center for the Arts through March 31 I had seen Fat Ham, James Ijames’ Pulitzer Prize-winning adaptation of Hamlet, off-Broadway in New York last year and loved it. So I had been looking forward to seeing The NOLA Project’s production of Ijames’ White from 2018. In a nutshell, and as per The NOLA Project’s (TNP) press release, “White is a … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards March 7, 2023