Many skills come together to make a good bartender, particularly in New Orleans, a drinking city where the cocktail is king. Here a bad bartender usually is not employed long. We are more than a party city for tourists; we are a place where locals love to drink and go out frequently. To be a great bartender in the Big Easy you need to have a personality, be … [Read more...] about Bartender Spotlight – May 2023
Arts & Culture
Trodding the Boards May 28, 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
The Official Pride Guide – Under the Gaydar Pride Edition (June 2023 Event Calendar)
It’s summertime in NOLA, y’all and the livin’ is easy! Things are heating up so here are just some of the hot happenings in June to put on your “Gaydar.” If you want your event listed, send me an email at ledgemgp@gmail.com. Weekly Events Monday: * NOAGE New Orleans Walking Group; Audubon Park; 6500 Magazine St.; 6 p.m. NOAGE’s weekly walking group meets on … [Read more...] about The Official Pride Guide – Under the Gaydar Pride Edition (June 2023 Event Calendar)
Trodding the Boards May 16, 2023
Where the Suga Still Sweet (thru May 21) and The Defiance of Dandelions (thru June 17) at the André Cailloux Center for Performing Arts It's rare to go to a performance of a new play in New Orleans or even New York or, for that matter, just about anywhere these days, and find yourself on the edge of your seat, waiting to find out what will happen next. Rarer still, when the … [Read more...] about Trodding the Boards May 16, 2023
Reggie, Regina, and the 50th Anniversary of the UpStairs Lounge Fire
Reggie was a young black man from Dallas studying to become a Jesuit priest. Ricky was a young white Mormon from New Orleans preparing to go on a mission trip to China. Their divine callings would be radically altered when they eventually met each other one night at a neighborhood gay bar on the edge of the French Quarter in New Orleans. There, they found a … [Read more...] about Reggie, Regina, and the 50th Anniversary of the UpStairs Lounge Fire
Under the Gaydar (May 2023 Event Calendar)
May is an ideal month in NOLA. Everything is in bloom from the flowers to the festivals. Here are just some of the hot happenings in May to put on your “Gaydar.” If you want your event listed, send me an email at ledgemgp@gmail.com. Weekly Events Monday: * NOAGE New Orleans Walking Group; Audubon Park; 6500 Magazine St.; 6 p.m. NOAGE’s weekly walking … [Read more...] about Under the Gaydar (May 2023 Event Calendar)
Trodding the Boards May 2, 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
Bartender Spotlight – April 2023
In addition to making a great drink, a bartender (or mixologist) has to have myriad skills or traits that will help him succeed in this industry. Having a great personality is high up on that list and my bartender choice this month oozes with charm, wit and a winning personality. I am talking about Zeus at The Page. Zeus is definitely a perfect name for this … [Read more...] about Bartender Spotlight – April 2023
Trodding the Boards April 18, 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
Trodding the Boards April 4, 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