Trials and Transitions

With this issue, OnStage wraps up its second year of existence. Also with this issue, our magazine is making the increasingly typical transition from a print publication to an online-only format. Printing a magazine is a costly undertaking, and without adequate financial support — from advertisers, in our case — the show cannot go on. Or, at least it can’t play on the same old stage. So for now, please continue to look for us at www.myneworleans.com/My-New-Orleans/Our-Magazines.

Meanwhile, our congratulations go out to someone who was instrumental in prompting the startup of OnStage two years ago. Barbara Motley this summer is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the opening of Le Chat Noir Cabaret Theatre.

Opening the 125-seat club was a bold undertaking, and Barbara has not only done a terrific job of presenting high-quality cabaret-style entertainment, she has also become a pillar of the local theater community. Her support and work in behalf of others has been invaluable to the live-theater sector. That’s just one reason why New Orleans is likely to enjoy at least another decade of entertainment excellence from Le Chat.

Recently, Barbara told me that the “odds on the street” at the time she opened the club suggested that it wouldn’t last six months. “I guess we beat the odds,” she says.

Barbara attributes Le Chat’s relative longevity to several factors, including “the rich tradition of musical theater” that already existed in the city, and “the deep well of talent who create non-musical original comedy and drama in New Orleans, and who need a stage” to bring their ideas to full production. “Because of our small scale, performers and producers can mount really excellent productions without the financial risk of a larger theater,” she says.

Indeed. Happy 10th birthday, Le Chat. You have our best wishes for at least 20 or 30 more.

Kathy Finn, editor
OnStage@RenPubLLC.com
 

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