Cultural Arts Alive in New Orleans
Broadway, Opera, Ballet, Live Theatre On Tap for 2010

Wicked Photo by Joan Marcus

Avenue Q

The cultural arts have long been an integral part of New Orleans’ history, dating back almost to the earliest years of the settlement three centuries ago. Inheriting a love of live performance fare from the original French colonists, the city hosted close to a dozen theatres in the 1800s offering opera, ballet, classical music and live theatrical productions. Even in the present time, despite competition from television, movies, DVDs and computerized viewing options, the performing arts in New Orleans continue to draw appreciative crowds who prefer to see “the real thing” acted out in front of their eyes.

Today the city boasts one of the oldest opera companies in the nation, a first class ballet association, plus a musician-run philharmonic orchestra on par with the best of them, and a number of other venues where you can see some of Broadway’s most famous productions and other line live stage performances. Here is a summary of what we have to offer:

Broadway Across America

Wicked, Mamma Mia, Avenue Q! Broadway shows – most of which feature their original casts – have returned to the Crescent City, thanks to Broadway Across America.

Three shows still remain on the five-show bill that runs through June 2010. While waiting for the legendary Saenger Theatre to be refurbished and reopened in 2011, the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, in Louis Armstrong Park, will serve as the staging facility for the Broadway Across America lineup. The shows that remain are:

Mamma Mia
February 2-7
Inspired by the music of ABBA, the mother of a soon-to-be-wed daughter tries desperately the find the girl’s father to walk her down the aisle.

Wicked
March 24-April 11
Subtitled “The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz,” the saga of what it was like in Oz before Dorothy’s arrival and the ongoing struggle between good and evil.

Avenue Q
June 8-13
The struggle of a newly arrived young man in New York and the struggles of those among whom he finds himself living in a lower income neighborhood.

Performances will be held in the evening from Tuesday through Saturday with matinees on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are on sale at various levels and prices.

For details on the Broadway Across America-New Orleans series and for ticket and season subscription information, call 1-800-218-SHOW (7469) Monday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. Or you can visit www.BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com.

New Orleans Ballet Association

Celebrating its 40th season in 2009-10, the New Orleans Ballet Association continues to bring the finest in classical and modern footwork to the stage. Here is how the dance schedule for early 2010 shapes up:

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
February 26-27
Founded by the late, legendary dancer/choreographer Alvin Ailey, the company is celebrating 50 years as a cultural ambassador to the world. Led by artistic director Judith Jamison, the company offers two powerhouse programs including Ailey’s masterpiece, Revelations, performed on Friday night. Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts. 8 p.m.

Lyon Opera Ballet
March 5-6
As the resident company of the world-famous Lyon (France) Opera House, the Lyon Opera Ballet is known for its innovative repertoire and groundbreaking works set to the music of past and modern masters, from Mozart and Beethoven to the present. Freda Lupin Memorial Hall, New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, 2800 Chartres Street. 8 p.m.

For tickets and information call 504-522-0996 or check out www.nobadance.com

New Orleans Opera Association

The French Opera House

December 2009 marked the 150th anniversary of the dedication of the old French Opera House, which formerly stood at the corner of Bourbon and Toulouse streets in the French Quarter. During the 60 years of its existence, the French Opera House was the center of the city’s cultural and social life. During that time, also, New Orleans reigned as “The Opera Capital of North America.” Many of the works of Europe’s greatest composers had their American premieres there, and some of the greatest singers of their time appeared on stage there.

Although the French Opera House burned down in 1919 and was never rebuilt, opera continues to be performed in New Orleans at the newly renovated Mahalia Jackson Theatre for the Performing Arts in Louis Armstrong Park.

The 2010 Spring Opera Season concludes on Friday, March 19 and Sunday, March 21 with a performance of Richard Wagner’s Der Fliegende Hollander (The Flying Dutchman). The Friday performance begins at 8 p.m. and curtain time for the Sunday matinee is 2:30 p.m. The three-act opera will be sung in German with English supertitles (translations) projected above the stage.

Written and performed in 1843, the opera puts to music the famous legend of the Flying Dutchman. A mythical sailor who is condemned by the forces of darkness to sail until Judgment Day, the Dutchman can only escape his fate if he meets a woman willing to die in order to save him.

Russian-born Evgeny Nikitin, one of the world’s leading bass-baritones in the German repertoire, sings the title role, opposite soprano Lise Lindstrom (Senta), who is equally fluent in the German, Italian and French repertoires. Other major cast members include bass Raymond Aceto (Daland), tenor Roy Cornelius Smith (Erik), mezzo-soprano Gwendolyn Jones (Frau Mary) and tenor Chauncey Packer (Steersman). Robert Lyall conducts the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Carol Rausch directs the New Orleans Opera Chorus.

For tickets and information call 504-529-2278 or 504-529-3000 or visit www.neworleansopera.org.

Bon Operatit!

Bon Operatit!

The Inn On Bourbon

Lauren Mouney Gisclair

Mary Penick Akin

Jesse Nolan

Although the old French Opera House is long gone, the opera tradition lives on at the same site. A local ensemble calling itself Bon Operatit! has revived the great operatic tradition in the appropriately named Puccini Room at the Ramada Inn on Bourbon at Bourbon and Toulouse streets.

Consisting of tenor Jesse Nolan, mezzo-soprano Mary Penick Akin and soprano Lauren Mouney Gisclair, Bon Operatit! performs arias from some of the classic operas in the standard repertoire, plus a sampling of Broadway show tunes and other popular musical fare. They have entertained several times at the Inn on Bourbon and in other venues around New Orleans and they have a number of free performances slated at the Inn in the coming months.

From Verdi and Puccini to Rogers & Hammerstein and Andrew Lloyd Weber, Bon Operatit! is musical entertainment in the grandest New Orleans tradition. This talented trio recently released their first CD, featuring 14 songs ranging from Schubert’s “Ave Maria” to “Tonight” from Bernstein’s “West Side Story.” It also includes arias from Verdi’s “Rigoletto” and “La Traviata,” Puccini’s “Turandot” and “Gianni Schicchi,” Delibes’ “Lakmé,” St. Saëns’ “Samson et Dalila,” Bizet’s “Carmen,” Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” and Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffman.” In all, Bon Operatit! offers a repertoire of more than 50 classic tunes from opera to popular musicals.

For a complete schedule of Bon Operatit’s upcoming performances click here.
http://www.bonoperatit.com/events.php.

All performances are free and open to the public. For more information about Bon Operatit!, including booking for private social events, call 504-232-1046 or email celebrate@bonoperatit.com.

Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra

In the early 1990s, when the old New Orleans Symphony Orchestra went bankrupt and folded, a group of the orchestra’s musicians quickly revived it and transformed the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra into one of the few and most successful musician-run orchestras in the world. In the years since then, LPO has brought some of the world’s most renowned classical musicians to the stage in New Orleans, including violinists Pinchas Zukerman and Itzhak Perlman and, most recently, cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

On Thursday, February 25, LPO is offering Mussorgsky’s “Pictures at an Exhibition,” Hindemith’s “Mathis der Maler Symphony” and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with featured soloist Joseph Meyer. The concert will be at the First Baptist Church of New Orleans, 5290 Canal Blvd., at 7:30 p.m.

For tickets and information call 523-6530 or go to www.lpomusic.com.

Le Petit Theatre

Located in the heart of the French Quarter, at 626 St. Peter Street at Chartres Street (opposite Jackson Square), Le Petit Theâtre du Vieux Carré has a long history as the oldest continually operating community theater in the nation. Established in 1916 and operating out of its present location since 1922, Le Petit has continued to offer a wide variety of live fare ranging from original, first-run works to lively musicals and Broadway classics. Here is what’s on tap for the rest of the 2009-10 season:

The Steel Magnolias
Jan 21 – Feb 6
Set in a local beauty shop in the fantastically colorful 1980's, this performance explores the bonds of six gorgeously complicated women living in Northern Louisiana. Love, apathy, pain, loss –all set to live a life of happiness no matter what the odds.

13
March 4-21, 2010
A musical concerning the life of 13-year-old Evan Goldman as he moves from New York City to Appleton, Indiana and his dilemma when the move conflicts with the celebration of his Bar Mitzvah.

Grey Gardens
May 6-23, 2010
A musical based on the 1975 documentary about the lives of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale (“Big Edie”) and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale (“Little Edie”), who started off as American aristocrats and ended up the forgotten band of Jackie O’s family.

The Wedding Singer
July 6-25, 2010
A hilarious, 1980’s themed crowd pleaser that tells the story of Robert Hart who lives in his grandmother’s New Jersey basement and whose dreams of being a glamorous singer/songwriter are replaced with a burning desire to find the right girl and settle down.

For tickets and information call 522-2081 or visit www.LePetitTheatre.com.

Southern Repertory Theater

Located on the third level of the Shops at Canal Place, Southern Repertory Theater was founded in the late 1980s by Rosary O’Neal and her husband Richard. They also offer a good mix of original material and classic fare, often serving as a venue for premiering new works by local playwrights. On the boards for the remainder of the season are the following productions:

Ameriville
February 24-March 7, 2010
A fusion of poetry, jazz, hip-hop, politics, down home blues and smoldering Spanish melodies that create an unforgettable theatre experience. AMERIVILLE takes on what it means to be an American, with heart, impassioned dance and incandescent harmonies.

With a Bang
March 24-April 18, 2010
A ridiculously absurd, terrifyingly comedic tale of young heroine Margaret, who finds out that her father has died…again. She’s confronted by one very awkward messenger and realizes she must take on her father’s mission.

The Piano Teacher
May 19-June 13, 2010
When sweet, cookie loving Mrs. K, the epitome of the caring grandmotherly piano teacher, reaches out to her old students, she unleashes a creepily dark mystery she can’t quite keep in her piano bench. Mrs. K, it will keep you guessing until the very end.

For tickets and more information call 522-6545 or email info@southernrep.com.