Q: You are headlining at New Orleans Pridefest on June 8th, and you will be the Celebrity Grand Marshal of the Pride Parade. What does it mean to you, to headline your hometown Pride? A: I’m humbled to be doing this for my city of New Orleans, and for Bounce music as a whole. I’m sure it’s going to be a great experience, very exciting, and fun for me and the … [Read more...] about Big Freedia New Orleans Pride Interview
Arts & Culture
The Voice Known as Frenchie Davis: Broadway – Cabaret – World Stage – Baton Rouge
Robyn Vie Carpenter-Brisco, Vice-Chair of Baton Rouge Pride Songbird Frenchie Davis is a world-renowned vocalist from Los Angeles, California, and a graduate of Howard University. Her theatrical credits include the Broadway cast of RENT, Dreamgirls, Cinderella Enchanted, Jesus Christ Superstar, and the National Tour of Ain’t Misbehavin’, for which she earned a Grammy … [Read more...] about The Voice Known as Frenchie Davis: Broadway – Cabaret – World Stage – Baton Rouge
Pepper Mashay at Baton Rouge Pride
Robyn Vie Carpenter-Brisco, Vice-Chair of Baton Rouge Pride What does Pride sound like? I think that the answer really depends on who you ask, and when you’re asking. When I first came out 25 years ago, the sound of my first Pride was the exuberant anthem from the divine Miss Ross, “I’m Coming Out.” That’s also the year I learned about the NYC rock band, BETTY!, who sang the … [Read more...] about Pepper Mashay at Baton Rouge Pride
Jimmy Neurosis
Jimmy Neurosis. James Oseland. Ecco, 2019. ISBN: 978-0062267368. 293 pages. Long before James Oseland was a judge on Top Chef Masters, he was a teenage rebel growing up in the pre–Silicon Valley suburbs, yearning for a taste of something wild. Diving headfirst into the churning mayhem of the punk movement, he renamed himself Jimmy Neurosis and embarked on a journey into a … [Read more...] about Jimmy Neurosis
1977: Pageants and Rags and Courts—O My!
In 1983, Valda Lewis moved to New Orleans and began working at a Randall’s Record Shop on Toulouse Street importing and selling British punk rock music. Here in New Orleans, she found the freedom to be her true self, a lesbian, that proved so elusive in her hometown of Rayleigh in Essex County back in England. After Randall’s, she took a job bartending and met her … [Read more...] about 1977: Pageants and Rags and Courts—O My!
Will ‘Making Waves’ be the Queerest Aquatic Romance Yet?
Drew Larimore is a Brooklyn-based writer. His plays have been produced internationally as well as Off Broadway. His film and TV work stream online. He makes killer pumpkin bread, and alternates between black t-shirts and plaid. Since Drew is about to gear up for his new short, Making Waves, let’s make a splash in his queer mind with some questions on the eve of Pride. What … [Read more...] about Will ‘Making Waves’ be the Queerest Aquatic Romance Yet?
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
LadyBEAST and Vinsantos present an ode to New Orleans cabaret. June 6-9
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA — June 6 marks the beginning of the final shows of “Marquee” at Le Petit Theatre. A perfect complement to Pride New Orleans, “Marquee” features the best in drag, burlesque and vaudeville. Indulge yourself on a decadent night of entertainment with “Vinsantos and LadyBEAST Present Marquee: A Night of Burlesque, Circus and Drag Cabaret” at Le Petit … [Read more...] about LadyBEAST and Vinsantos present an ode to New Orleans cabaret. June 6-9
Party Down June 4, 2019
Ever since I was a child, I have always loved summers in New Orleans. And as I have grown older, I still enjoy them, but I’ve married that with the much-needed love of air conditioning. During the summer months, I always feel like I am stepping into a Tennessee Williams play each time I leave my house. I have a new appreciation of hand fans and parasols. I do declare! But even … [Read more...] about Party Down 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
