Curtain Up
Now that Mardi Gras is just a happy memory, it’s time for theater to move back indoors again. Through the beginning of Jazzfest, lots of shows will be debuting on local stages all around town. Hope you’ll be able to check out some—or all—of the following.
New Orleans doesn’t often see the world premiere of a new musical, but, down in the Bywater, Goat in the Road Productions will present Carlota at CANOA (4210 St. Claude Ave.) from March 5 thru March 14. Carlota weaves together the life and legacy of Carlota Ruíz de González, a fictional character rooted in Cuban and New Orleans history. Carlota is “a grandmother, a revolutionary, a healer, and a pain in the ass. She stabbed a Spanish colonel (maybe), survived a flood, crisscrossed Cuba, played the lotto, smoked too much, saved lives, survived enslavement and laughed when she wanted.”
Carlota features an original score by Denise Frazier, Peter J Bowling, & Yusa, direction by Chris Kaminstein & Richon May, and a story that takes audiences from the 20th century to the 19th century and back again. [https://www.goatintheroadproductions.org/works-blog/2024/9/9/carlota-1]
If you’re in the mood for a classic musical comedy, head to Le Petit Theatre March 5-29 for the joyful Guys and Dolls, the Tony-winning stage version of Damon Runyon’s colorful tales of gangsters, gamblers, showgirls, and holy rollers. Boasting a score that includes such gems as Luck Be a Lady, Take Back Your Mink, and Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat, direction by A.J. Allegra & Jauné Buisson, and Leslie Claverie & Michael Paternostro as Miss Adelaide & Nathan Detroit, I bet this’ll be a bushel and a peckful of fun. [https://www.lepetittheatre.com/events/guys-and-dolls]
Out in Metairie, Jefferson Performing Arts (JPA) presents Scott Sauber’s production of Frozen. This adaptation of the hit Disney animated movie tells of Princesses Anna and Elsa who grow up sheltered inside their castle, isolated from the world and increasingly distant from each other. When Elsa is crowned queen, the magical powers she’s tried to conceal from her sister take control, and she flees into the mountains. As winter descends on the queendom, Anna sets off on a journey to find Elsa and bring her home – with the help of hardworking ice harvester Kristoff, his loyal reindeer Sven, and a happy-go-lucky snowman named Olaf. JPA will let Frozen go March 6-15. [https://www.jpas.org/performance/frozen/]
If you prefer something edgier than Disney, JPA’s next show should fill the bill when it gives the local premiere to Jagged Little Pill, the Alanis Morisette musical with a book by Diablo Cody that explores the cracks beneath the surface of a seemingly picture-perfect suburban family. Jack Lampert directs the show which runs April 17-26. [https://www.jpas.org/performance/jagged-little-pill/]
It’s hard to be edgy when you’re the longest running show in Broadway history, but what it lacks in edginess, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera makes up in spectacle. It comes to the Saenger Theatre March 4-15. [https://us.atgtickets.com/events/the-phantom-of-the-opera/saenger-theatre/]
Phantom will be followed by The Great Gatsby (March 24-19), a new musical based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel of love, wealth and tragedy set during the Roaring Twenties. [https://us.atgtickets.com/events/the-great-gatsby/saenger-theatre/]
If you’re looking for just a one-night stand in between those two musicals, the hilarious Wanda Sykes comes to the Saenger on March 19 with special guest Keith Robinson; btw, if you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past 17 years, she’s a lesbian. [https://us.atgtickets.com/events/wanda-sykes/saenger-theatre/]
Ms. Sykes may be a Queen of Comedy, but if you want 6 queens of the throne and palace sort, SIX returns to the Saenger April 14-19 with its wild mashup of Tudor royalty and an American Idol-style competition. [https://us.atgtickets.com/events/six/saenger-theatre/]
Musicals and comedy are great, but fans of serious drama should take the streetcar named St. Charles uptown when The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans kicks off its 11th season with the rarely produced Small Craft Warnings. In a forgotten seaside bar, Williams brings together a ragtag band of drifters, dreamers, and outcasts who cling to each other as they search for connection and fight against loneliness. Small Craft Warnings plays at Loyola’s Lower Depths Theatre March 12-29 in collaboration with the Tennessee Williams & New Orleans Literary Festival. [https://www.twtheatrenola.com/cast]
And in Bastard Nation, a new play by Anita Vatshell, following the death of the family matriarch, siblings grapple with secrets revealed in her will. Adoption is only one of the discoveries they face as they redefine their sense of family. Bastard Nation explores the shadow aspects of adoption through a comedic lens, and the reproductive justice crisis in the United States today. This dramedy will be performed March 26- April 5 at the New Marigny Theatre. [https://newmarignytheatre.com/event/bastard-nation-by-anita-vatshell-march-26-april-5/]
Happy Spring! Happy Theatergoing!!
