Youth revelers are partying in Jefferson Parish, the French Quarter has a Bayou State-meets-Broadway vibe, and local theaters are showing off intriguing productions.
A little reading
A Baton Rouge-set play by a Louisiana author will be the next in Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré’s Petit Read series, with a free performance Thursday of a play by Kelly Nicole Girod.
“A Body of Water” is the third in the author’s Louisiana trilogy, which also includes “This Stretch of Montpelier” and “The Faith Healer.” The story is based on Girod’s family history in the Bayou State.
The production is directed by Andrew Block, who has previously worked with Girod, and features readings by Troy Bechet, Leslie Castay, Robert Duki, Lara Grice, Keyara Milliner and John Neisler.
Currently residing in New York City, Girod is director of new works at the Apollo Theater and executive director of the Fire This Time Festival, a festival for early-career black playwrights.
“A Body of Water” follows a Baton Rouge matriarch as she deals with the 2016 floods and recovering from cancer, all while losing her home and dealing with memories of the devastation caused by 1969’s Category 5 Hurricane Camille.
Reservations are required for the free reading, which will be held at the theater, 616 St. Peter St., Thursday at 7 p.m. lepetittheatre.com.
JPAS Duo
About 100 people are attending the Jefferson Performing Arts Association’s summer theater workshop for young people, which will feature two productions by young performers in grades 3-12 over the next few days.
The two productions, part of the society’s youth musical theater immersion camp, will run from July 26-28 with “Fiddler on the Roof Jr.” Friday through Sunday and “High School Musical.”
“Fiddler” features a cast of 37 third- through sixth-graders and is directed by Chris Shaw. Its story of Jews living in Tsarist Anatevka facing rising anti-Semitism and a changing way of life has become a Broadway classic with songs like “Sunrise Sunset,” “If I Were a Rich Man” and “The Matchmaker.” The show is produced by the Westwego Performing Arts Theatre (177 Sala Ave.) and will run Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets start at $15.
Directed by Janet Seay, “High School Musical” is based on the hit Disney movie of the same name about exclusion and true self. The cast features 59 students from grades 6-12. The catchy “We’re All In This Together” is the show’s iconic song.
Performances will take place at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 6400 Airline Drive, Metairie, on July 26 and 27 at 7:30 pm, and July 28 at 2 pm. Tickets start at $15.
visit jpas.org For more details about both shows, please click here.
This week from July 18th to 24th
“A Streetcar Named Desire: Doors open Friday at 7:30 p.m., Thursday through Sunday at 7:30 p.m. through Aug. 4. Marigny Opera House, 725 Ferdinand St., New Orleans. The Tennessee Williams Theatre Company presents its signature play set in the Crescent City about sisters, their relationships with others, and the precarious attachment to reality that keeps them from falling completely apart. Tickets start at $13. Source.
In production
“Julius Caesar”: 7:30pm Thursday-Saturday, 1:30pm Saturday-Sunday. Lupin Theatre, 150 Dixon Hall Annex, Newcomb Circle, Tulane Uptown Campus. The New Orleans Shakespeare Festival presents Shakespeare’s 1600 story of a conspirator who fears Caesar has too much power and tries to kill him, and Caesar’s friend Antony rallies the citizens to drive out the murderers. One by one, they follow Shakespeare’s fate. Tickets start at $40. Orleans Shakespeare.
“Mean Girls”: Thursday through Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m. RiverTown Theatres for the Performing Arts, 325 Minor St., Kenner. A stage adaptation of Tina Fey’s film about a freshman thrown into the deepest, darkest jungle of high school life, presided over by a cunning band of sharp-tongued villains. Through twists and turns, the characters learn about each other, their differences and who they really are. Fetch. Tickets from $39. Rivertown Theatres.
“The Pirates of Penzance”: Through July 28, Saturdays at 7 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m., Playmakers Theatre, 19106 Playmakers Road, Covington. W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s classic operetta takes place at sea, with a valiant damsel and a “modern major-general” as its protagonists. Tickets start at $30. Bon Temps Sticks.
“Six”: Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., Cutting Edge Theatre, 767 Robert Blvd., Slidell. A high school version of six female singers recounts the lives (and deaths) of Henry VIII’s notorious wives, from Catherine of Aragon to Katherine Parr (with two Annes and a Jane in between). In a rock concert format, they retell the stories of women who “divorced, were beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded and survived.” Tickets start at $32. Source:.
