The Year in Review
Instead of starting this column off all doomy and gloomy, as I did last year’s “Year in Review”, I figured I’d begin by accentuating the positive aspects of New Orleans’ theater scene for the year just passed.
I saw virtually the same number of shows in 2025 as I did in 2024; still half as many as pre-pandemic, but at least presentations didn’t contract any further as they had, by about a third, from 2023 to 2024.
No theater companies dropped off the radar in 2025 while a couple debuted.
No venues shuttered while a few productions occurred in off-the-beaten-path locales.
Only one show, Crescent City Stage’s (CCS) annual A Christmas Carol, was cancelled as opposed to three in 2024. And that was due to circumstances beyond their control involving technical problems with Loyola’s Marquette Theater. And CCS was still able to bring us a little Christmas cheer with a benefit reading of the show. Unfortunately, now CCS is searching for a new home where it can present its next season.
Alas, my “Wish List” of shows I’m hoping to be done here remains the same as at the start of 2025 (An Octoroon, Fairview, Mary Jane, The Antipodes, Circle Mirror Transformation, Bootycandy, Small Mouth Sounds, Between Riverside and Crazy, etc.), but one could enjoy some non-standard repertory as well as original works around town, particularly on university campuses.
Speaking of original works and new companies, Bywater Media & Spicy Curtains Productions debuted during the holidays with Quinn I. Bishop’s Dixie’s Holiday Bar, which featured Marguerite (Trading Spouses) Perrin as the legendary Bourbon Street club owner, Miss Dixie Fasnacht.
Many of the same people involved in Dixie’s Holiday Bar were also part of Six Frenchmen, an immersive, audience participation show referencing a historical event from 1769 which turned the art installation venue JAMNOLA in the Marigny Triangle into a gigantic theater.
Also raising its curtain in 2025 was the Kaleidoscope Theatre Company which, led by Aaron Brewer, aims to refract “queer creativity into reimagined classical works, touchstones of the queer theatrical canon, and new plays.” Its first production was a gender-bending version of Genet’s The Maids at UNO’s Lab Theatre.
Two of the most memorable productions of 2025 were of the “something old, something new” variety.
The New Orleans Shakespeare Festival (NOSF) presented The Imaginary Invalid in a shimmering new translation/adaptation by Ryder Thornton. Anne-Liese Juge Fox directed Molière’s 1673 satire of 17th-century France’s medical profession to perfection. Doug (Noah’s Arc) Spearman led the divine cast as a wealthy, pompous man who has fallen prey to ridiculous, supposedly salubrious treatments. Jessica Podewell made a most worthy opponent as his witty and wise housekeeper who tries to instill some reason in him. John Jabaley, Alexandria Miles, Robert A. Mitchell Phillip Andrew Monnett Alix Paige, and Brandon Sutton all added to the merriment. And though they each had only one scene, Yvette Bourgeois and Robinson J. Cyprian made the most of their time on stage. Twas an absolutely delightful bonbon of a show.
Doug Spearman and Jessica Podewell in The Imaginary Invalid
Using Pete McElligott’s new adaptation of the classic Mary Shelley novel, The NOLA Project lit up the Halloween season with Frankenstein. Directed, brilliantly, by Leslie Claverie at the Lafitte Greenway Station, this Frankenstein seemed inspired by Charles Ludlam’s Theater of the Ridiculous with heightened emotions and a camp sensibility at a very rarefied level.
Keyara Milliner, Kristin Witt, and Keith Claverie in Frankenstein (photo by Jillian Desirée Oliveras Maldonado)
Aided by Jazzmyne Cry’s costumes, Adachi Pimental’s lighting, and Khiry Armstead’s sound design, the entire cast (James Bartelle, J’aiLa Christina, Noah Hazzard, Keyara Milliner, Michael Aaron Santos, Matthew Thompson, Kristin Witt with Keith Claverie as Victor Frankenstein) fabulously conveyed the ridiculousness of the script with the utmost precision as they shapeshifted in and out of various roles. One can only hope that this will become an annual treat.
Two too-seldom seen classics received topnotch productions.
It seemed like the whole town of Salem, Massachusetts, was squeezed onto the small stage at Big Couch for Fat Squirrel’s superlative revival of Arthur Miller’s still vital The Crucible whichmixes the personal and the political. Director Andrea Watson kept our attention riveted for the Tony-winning show’s entire 3 hour running time. Among the overall fine cast, Emory Farber, Maddie Fry, Miles Hamauei, Chasity Hart, John Jabaley, Mary Langley, Jonathan Mares, Saoirse McCrossen, Mary Pauley, and Enne Samuel were all excellent; Anja Avsharian and Clint Johnson, superb.
(l.-r.) Anja Avsharian, Jonathan Mares, Benjamin Clement, and Ken Pauley (partially hidden) in The Crucible
By coincidence, Summer Lyric Theatre’s (SLT) Carousel also took place in New England. If Director/Choreographer Diane Lala employed a traditional approach with her staging, I didn’t mind as it was the first time this canonical Rodgers & Hammerstein musical had been done here in at least 25 years and the first time I was seeing it on stage. Patrick Cragin and Melissa Campbell made an entrancing duo as the star-crossed lovers Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan, and Melissa Marshall, Knox Van Horn, and, in smaller roles, Lara Grice, Keith Claverie & Bob Edes, Jr., all made invaluable contributions, as did C. Leonard Raybon who conducted the large orchestra flawlessly.
Patrick Cragin and Melissa Campbell in Carousel
Also at SLT, Director/Choreographer Jauné Buisson got everything–staging, choreography, performances, emotional tone, etc.–just right with A Chorus Line. Nothing revolutionary here, just a terrific production. Among the stand-outs were Leslie L. Claverie, Leah Holewyne, Garrin Mesa, Michael Paternostro, Bryn Purvis, Melissa Goldberg, Victoria Thomas, and, in the smaller role as the director’s assistant, Jorden Majeau who displayed classical ballet form as he coached the aspiring chorus kids through the audition routines.
The cast of A Chorus Line
And in what may be a first for SLT, with Leslie Castay directing Company, all three of this summer’s musicals were directed by women. Brava!
Brava also to Varla Jean Merman and her fabulous team (Director Michael Schiralli, Writers Jeffery T Roberson, Ricky Graham & Jacques Lamarre, Jim Buff’s costumes, Brooklyn Campagne’s wigs, Deven Green & Handsome Ned’s videos & animation, and general factotum Brian W Johnston) for The Drowsy Chappell Roan, which riffed on the current crop of pop divas (Billie Eilish, Sabrina Carpenter, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa, Olivia Rodrigo, and Ms. Roan), all “colleagues” of hers, and all of whom, Varla made abundantly clear, stole from, er, were inspired by her.
Varla Jean Merman with Jasper
From the nasty but hilarious opening number to the big surprise at the end which touchingly tied the entire show together in brilliant truth-is-stranger-than-fiction fashion, The Drowsy Chappell Roan, seen at Café Istanbul, extended Miss Merman’s streak of ***** hits.
Varla may be outrageous but even she pales in comparison to Aqua Mob, New Orleans’ water ballet ensemble, which presented their 2025 extravaganza Wendy, Darling: An Aquatic Retelling of The Shining at the Midtown Hotel. Lizzy Collins wrote and directed this adaptation of Stephen King’s cautionary tale which I saw, appropriately, under a full moon. Hats off to all the aquaballerinas with gold medals going to Cody Keech as the maniacal Jack and Riley Elise as his son Danny.
(l.-r.) Rebecca Poole & Riley Elise and Cody Keech in Wendy, Darling: An Aquatic Retelling of The Shining (photos by Javier Hernandez)
Also noteworthy were–
Alex Martinez Wallace at Big Couch in The NOLA Project presentation of Every Brilliant Thing, a one-person, 70-minute, audience-interactive show by Duncan MacMillan which explores grief and how one family deals with it. Director Natalie Boyd did a fantastic job of guiding Wallace to deliver a master class in acting as he portrayed the unnamed Narrator and others in a thoroughly engaging manner. Daniel Radcliffe will be doing Every Brilliant Thing on Broadway later this year; I can’t imagine it being any better than Wallace/Boyd’s production.
Alex Martinez Wallace in Every Brilliant Thing (photo by Megan Whittle)
Wallace and Boyd also appeared in NOLA Project’s Clown Bar 2, a follow-up to playwright Adam Szymkowicz’s Clown Bar, which the company had produced 10 years ago. An arch send-up of all things noir, Clown Bar 2 provided pure silly fun (although deep existential thoughts got sprinkled in throughout its 75-minutes at The AllWays Lounge).
Keith Claverie and Natalie Boyd in Clown Bar 2 (photo by Dmitriy Pritykin)
Director Khiry Armstead & his krewe of clowns–enhanced by Musical Director Ronald Joseph, Shauna Leone’s costumes, and Leslie Claverie’s makeup & wigs–squeezed every morsel of humor out of this gonzo comedy, particularly Jessica Lozano as a murderous mob boss and Keith Claverie who, oozing Weltschmerz, seemed to have stepped out of a Weimar-era cabaret.
At Le Petit Theatre, Doug Wright’s Good Night, Oscar, about a singular incident in the life of mid-20th century wit Oscar Levant, provided an interesting portrait of an artist as a crazy man. Under A.J. Allegra’s sure-handed direction, Michael Paternostro gave a magnificent performance as he brought to life Levant’s obsessions, desperation and brilliance, both verbally and at the piano with a commanding rendition of a 7-minute excerpt from Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue”, a piece closely associated with Levant.
Michael Paternostro in Good Night, Oscar
The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company of New Orleans gave us worthy productions, at Loyola’s Marquette Theatre, of two of its namesake’s great plays, Orpheus Descending and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Augustin J Correro’s direction of both may not have broken any new ground, but occasioned a gripping fever dream of operatic proportions for Orpheus and expertly brought out the underlying cause of Brick’s self-disgust, something not always achieved, in Cat.
(l.) Leslie Claverie, (r.) Benjamin Dougherty and Charlie Carr in Orpheus Descending (photos by Brittney Werner)
If Orpheus’ women (Desiree Burrell, Charlie Carr, Leslie Claverie) outshone its men (due more to the nature of its script than to the talents of its thespians), Cat was anchored by the electric push-and-pull between Brandon Kotfila’s Brick and Randy Cheramie’s Big Daddy with Rebecca Elizabeth Hollingsworth’s Maggie and Margeaux Fanning’s Big Mama estimably animating this portrait of a dysfunctional family as well.
Brandon Kotfila and Randy Cheramie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Dysfunction was taken to a whole other level with Intramural Theater’s production of Timbuktu, USA at The New Marigny Theatre. Set in a Washington, DC, that’s kooky crazy, though not as kooky crazy as the real life one, Ken Prestininzi’s absurdist comedy featured sex & love & politics, as well as a monkey and a horse, the latter rendered in fantastical Trojan size by props designers Josh Jackson & Ross Turner of Daggum Creative, that made a most theatrical entrance.
Lauren Wells, Benjamin Dougherty, and Mary Langley in Timbuktu, USA (photo by Leah Floyd)
Elizabeth Frenchie Faith’s direction got every nugget of insanity out of the script. Lauren Wells, as an oversexed Secretary of State, and Mary Langley, as a damaged child/woman, each found the prickly humanity in her character, thereby giving, in what could’ve been one-note roles, phenomenal multi-layered performances. Benjamin Dougherty, as the Secretary’s gay-ish nephew, and Jon Greene, as both a pompous General and a gay hippie gardener, scored with delectable performances of the most entertaining lunacy.
Crescent City Stage, while still occupying the Marquette Theatre, gave Tiny Beautiful Things as lovely a presentation of Nia Vardalos’ adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s book Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar, as one could hope for. Michael A. Newcomer, making his directing debut, crafted a first-rate production with the help of James Lanius III’s projections, one of a number of shows Lanius brought his vast talents to in 2025.
Rashif Ali, Tenea Intriago, Steve Zissis, and Helena Wang in Tiny Beautiful Things (photo by Brittney Werner)
Tenea Intriago embodied Strayed/Sugar with honesty and authenticity, and Rashif Ali, Helena Wang, & Steve Zissis played letter writers to Sugar’s advice column of all different ages and sexes with compassion.
In Metairie, Jefferson Performing Arts (JPA) was fortunate to have the young, triple threat performer Charlie Stover in the title role of Billy Elliot, Elton John’s stellar musical that provides moving stories both personal and political as a teenage boy discovers his talent and love for ballet while his father, brother & the rest of his coal-mining community in 1980s northern England go on strike due to Margaret Thatcher’s policies.
Charlie Stover and Parker Portera-Dufrene in Billy Elliot: The Musical (photo by John B. Barrois)
Directed and choreographed by Kenneth Beck, this Tony Award-winner sounded like a million courtesy of Music Director Max DoVale and Conductor Dennis G. Assaf. In addition to Stover, Louis Dudoussat as Billy’s widowed father, Meredith Long-Dieth as his Grandma, Parker Portera-Dufrene as his best friend, and Leslie Castay as the ballet teacher who discovers Billy’s talent, all gave first-rate performances.
Justin Maxwell’s one-act play Exhausted Paint: The Death of Van Gogh returned courtesy of Fat Squirrel and justifiably so. The script remained the same as when it debuted at UNO in 2022 but each night was a completely different performance. Why? Because other than its beginning and ending passages, its fourteen inner sections are done in a different sequence each night, a wheel of fortune determining the order of the segments.
Drew Stroud in Exhausted Paint: The Death of Van Gogh
Drew Stroud’s tour de force interpretation of Maxwell’s highly intelligent script has only deepened since the premiere. On Ryan Bruce’s intimate set at Big Couch, the crisp direction of Carly Stroud, Drew’s wife, allowed this occasionally dense play to be easily comprehensible and uniquely fascinating.
At the Azienda Theater’s new Chalmette location, The Company – A St. Bernard Community Theater met the infamous Carrie the Musical on its own terms and didn’t try to make more of it than what it is; an enjoyable, if bloody, evening ensued. Directors John Collins and Mary Collins wisely did away with virtually all the scenery allowing for smoother scene changes, and impelling the audience to use their own imaginations to conjure up the various settings.
Isabella Rodi (center) and the cast of Carrie the Musical (photo by Emma Massengale & Jane D’Antonio)
The production also benefitted by having a cast that believably portrayed ordinary people; the actors of this Carrie are echt high school kids, not the overly-polished chorus boys and girls of a Broadway musical. Isabella Rodi as Carrie not only sang powerfully and projected the requisite aching vulnerability but, when asked to the prom, blossomed like a plant that has, finally, been given a little water. Arianna D’Antonio, as the sympathetic Sue, Harley Crowe, as the mean girls’ Queen Bee, and Jennifer Landry, as Carrie’s wacko religious mother all contributed supernaturally admirable performances.
At the Saenger Theatre, I enjoyed the reimagined version of The Wiz and, especially, the quirky Tony-winning musical Kimberly Akimbo, tho, puzzlingly for such an accomplished work, I seemed to be in the minority. I was less crazy about the musicals Back to the Future and Hell’s Kitchen, and was sorry that I was away when the revival of Funny Girl came through town.
Sadly, some members of the New Orleans theater arts community took their final bows in 2025.
Harold X. Evans (1945-2025) won tremendous acclaim as a “Wilsonian actor”, appearing in nearly all of the works of playwright August Wilson’s “Pittsburgh Cycle”, most notably in King Hedley II, Radio Golf, and The Piano Lesson, in which he “was by turns raffish and slyly wise,” and for which he won an Ambie Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
He essayed many types of roles, bringing insight, depth and flair to each of them, perhaps most memorably as Ernie K-Doe in Rob Florence’s Burn K-Doe Burn!. Portraying the legendary R&B singer, Evans gave “a charismatic performance that approaches Shakespearean, almost Lear-like highs and lows never papering over K-Doe’s shortcomings. Evans maintains K-Doe’s dignity through the drunken passages and convinces us of his majestical certainty in his own supremacy.”
Friendly, wise, gracious and down-to-earth, Evans was the loveliest of men.
Marc Belloni (1965-2025) taught theater at his alma mater Jesuit High School, composed music, and played guitar in various bands, including CL10, as well as practiced law. I remember him best, however, as an actor of musical theater. In such shows as Closer Than Ever, Romance/Romance, The Wonder Years, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and Chicago, he brought a strong voice, a sharp comic sense, and a charismatic presence to the stage. Had he still been trodding the boards after I started writing this column, I’m sure I would’ve been able to include excerpts from outstanding reviews.
Andy LaRocca (1990-2025) was nominated for an Ambie Award for Best Actor in a Play for his 2007 performance in the stage version of Ordinary People. As Conrad (Timothy Hutton’s role in the movie), LaRocca “appeared in nearly every scene of the play, and captured every bit of this tortured young man’s alienation and desperation stemming from his (unnecessary) guilt over his involvement with his brother’s death in a boating accident. He made us feel Conrad’s pain but also conveyed the teen’s ironic sense of humor as well as his emerging hormonal impulses.”
LaRocca had been living in Denver with his partner the past few years where he passed very suddenly and unexpectedly last month. From his Facebook posts he seemed to have been living a very happy life. If only it had been longer.
All of these folks shall be missed. Apologies to anyone who may have been inadvertently omitted.
On a happier note, the future seems bright given all the talent on display at NOLA’s universities and high schools.
Kristi Jacobs-Stanley does a superb job of running the theater program at Mount Carmel Academy, alternating plays and musicals, well-known works with more obscure ones. In the spring, she directed The Unsinkable Molly Brown; it’s not a perfect musical but I’m incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to see it. Stand-outs included Helen Morlier and Colleen D’Aquila in the title role. In the fall, she directed 8 Minutes Left, an offbeat series of vignettes about what various people would do if they only had “8 minutes left”. The entire cast was truly exceptional with Emma Kate Banquer and Bryson Morse first among equals.
At NOCCA, Director Leslie Castay’s utterly delightful production of The Drowsy Chaperone transported audiences to musical comedy heaven. If the entire cast was topnotch, I especially appreciated Valerie Babin, Bailey Hall, Tyger Hammons, Keita Kawahara, and Mason Morgan.
Tulane’s Department of Theatre had a very strong year with Laurie Flanigan Hegge’s Prick about Scottish witch hunts directed by Amy Chaffee; Eugène Ionesco’s absurdist comedy The Lesson directed by Antony Sandoval and featuring Grace Gilchrist, Sydney Schneider, & Sofia Severson; and the equally absurd allegory The Squirrels by Tony nominee Robert (Hand to God) Askins directed with nutty (sorry, couldn’t help myself) assuredness by Ryder Thornton.
I was pleased that Delgado Community College presented Karel Capek’s R.U.R. – Rossum’s Universal Robots from 1921, a play I had heard of but had never seen (it’s actually where the word “robot” comes from). Kris LaMorte’s production offered it as a radio play and, if dramaturgically the play is now a little creaky, its tale of artificial intelligence run amok seemed as if it was written yesterday.
Loyola’s Department of Theatre scored with Dave Malloy’s eery, steampunkish Ghost Quartet directed by Elizabeth Argus, and featuring singers Jasper Cox Vela, Kaylee Gomez, Laura Hamilton, & Will Irvine under the musical direction of Randy Martono-Chai.
Loyola was also home to one of my absolute favorite shows of the year. Alice by Heart by Duncan Sheik (music) & Steven Sater (book/lyrics), the duo behind the musical Spring Awakening, resets Alice in Wonderland in an underground shelter for children during WWII’s London Blitz, or rather, reimagines it as it would be told by Alice to her ailing friend Alfred there to escape the war’s traumas. Marvelously directed by Salvatore Mannino, with spot-on music direction by Flo E. Presti, imaginative choreography by Keith Pinkston, and beguiling costumes by Kaci Thomassie, Alice by Heart charmed and delighted.
The entire cast delivered utterly winning performances but an extra tip of the (mad) hat to Jenevieve Bolen (Alice), Aidan Caliva (Alfred), Madeline Hui (The Duchess), and Kaelyn Turkmany (The Queen), who had previously done outstanding work in such other musicals as Urinetown (Penelope Pennywise), and Head Over Heels (Pamela).
Having had a brief off-Broadway run in 2019, Alice by Heart’s creators are apparently planning to retool it for a future life, possibly on Broadway. If so, I hope theirs is as magical as Loyola’s production.
(Alas, scheduling prevented me from seeing any of UNO’s productions last year. I hope and expect that that will change in 2026.)
I had a cherished personal involvement with one of the other university productions.
Fever by Carolyn Nur Wistrand was presented by Dillard University’s Theatre Program in February and again in October. It compellingly told of Marie Laveau and her efforts to heal people during NOLA’s 1853 Yellow Fever Epidemic. It was the recipient of the 2025 Sherri Marina Memorial Grant which I had established in 2021 (it alternates with the Carol Sutton Memorial Grant) to support productions of new plays that feature challenging, noteworthy roles for actors of color, particularly Black actresses, and to honor these two beloved theater artists who passed within days of each other in December 2020.
The cast of Fever
Along with my colleagues and advisers Gwendolyn Foxworth and Wanda Rouzan, we were thrilled to see Fever come to vibrant life at Dillard’s Cook Performing Arts Center where it was directed most satisfyingly by Ray Vrazel and featured captivating performances by Krystal Jackson as Marie Laveau and DoMonique Warren as her daughter.
A Sherri Marina Memorial Grant was also awarded to Lisa Shattuck’s Wonder Wander – City Park, a time-tripping theatrical experience that took place on Scout Island in City Park and used immersive audio and live actors to tell tales of this city’s complicated history of race relations, a unique experience, inventively done.
Cal Williams in Wonder Wander – City Park with audience members
And, last but not least, mention must be made of Intramural Theater’s Critical Mass done at the Marigny Opera House. Why must mention be made? Because I was in it. Note, I did not seek this out but, rather, was asked to essay the role of the Critic, much as The New York Times’ Ben Brantley had been asked to be in the original off-Broadway production in 1997 (he had to decline due to scheduling conflicts). Very meta, eh?
Pamela D. Roberts and Brian Sands in Critical Mass
A surreal comedy by Obie Award winner Deb Margolin, Critical Mass examined different forms of criticism and its effect on people. Tricia Anderson directed this dark, knotty treatise with flair, and it was a joy to watch (I was onstage for almost the entire show, observing the action when not part of it) Pamela D. Roberts as the Narrator navigate Margolin’s intricate passages, and the ensemble (Dontez Banks, Mary Davis, Roney Lee Jones, and Joe Signorelli) metamorphose through a wide range of characters with tremendous dexterity and verve.
As for me, no one threw tomatoes or eggs in my direction. ’Nuff said.
In addition to those already mentioned above, other praiseworthy folks who trod the boards in 2025 include: Sarah Colbert Cutrer (Joe & Marilyn, JPA); Rahim Glaspy, Jarrell Hamilton, Kadejah Oné (Ain’t Misbehavin‘, Le Petit); Ryan Hayes, David Lind, Leslie Nipkow (The Lehman Trilogy, Le Petit); Ian Hoch (A Midsummer Night’s Dream, NOSF); Virginia Slim Jim (The Case of the Bitchin’ Queen Belles–A Golden Girls Drag Musical, Trey Bien); David Lind, Queen Shereen Macklin, Leslie Nipkow (Doubt, Le Petit); Logan Macrae (Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Fire Weeds); Meredith Owens, Chloe Vallot (Company, SLT); Daniel Rigamer (Jersey Boys, Le Petit); and Arthur Rusnak, Jackson Scott (Twelfth Night, NOCCA).
As the curtain rises on a new year, I salute all the writers, producers, directors, designers, choreographers, music directors, musicians, hair & make-up artists, fight choreographers, dancers and thespians who made theatrical magic in 2025, and look forward to all you have to offer in 2026. And with the expected return of the New Orleans Fringe Festival this year, NOLA’s theater scene should be getting its wild’n’wooly groove back!
