Photo by Alice Blangero Courtesy of NOBA
As autumn approaches, so too does the anticipation of a new season of theater, dance, music and other artistic pleasures around town. The array of offerings for the upcoming season are broad enough to satisfy any taste from Beethoven to ballet and beyond. Opt for a season subscription package to Le Petit Theatre, a ‘Broadway pass’ at the Saenger, or pepper your calendar with a variety of plays, concerts, exhibitions, and recitals that sample the full range of the city’s arts scene. However you choose to enjoy it, this calendar will help navigate the paths to filling your cultural cup this season.
Note: A number of organizations had not announced their calendar at the time this issue went to press. If you have an event you would like to add to our online calendar, please email andy@myneworleans.com.
Saenger Theatre
1111 Canal St.
504-525-1052
saengernola.com
The Saenger brings Broadway favorites to Canal Street all season long through its popular “Broadway in New Orleans” series.
“A Wonderful World” (October 1-8, 2023)
This new musical about the life and loves of Louis Armstrong will be performed in a pre-Broadway engagement at the Saenger. In “A Wonderful World,” the women in Armstrong’s life tell the story of this jazz legend and American icon.
“MJ the Musical” (November 1-12, 2023)
The Tony Award-winning new musical celebrates the creative magic, moves and music of Michael Jackson. In this production, Tony Award-winning director/choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage center the story around the development of the 1992 Dangerous World Tour.
“Wicked” (November 29 – December 17, 2023)
Told from the perspective of the witches in the Land of Oz, this beloved musical premiered in 2003 and has been delighting audiences ever since. With music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and book by Winnie Holzman, the story is based on the 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.
“My Fair Lady” (January 9-14, 2024)
This Tony Award-winning musical premiered in 1956 on Broadway, followed in 1964 by a film adaptation. Based on George Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, with music by Frederick Loewe and book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, the story follows Cockney flower girl Eliza Doolittle and the efforts of phonetician Professor Henry Higgins to mold her into a member of high society.
“Les Misérables” (January 30 – February 4, 2024)
A timeless tale of “broken dreams and unrequited love, passion, sacrifice and redemption” based on the novel by Victor Hugo is set against the backdrop of 19th century France. This Tony Award-winning musical has been in production since 1985, captivating audiences worldwide.
“Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations”
(February 27 – March 3, 2024)
Winner of the 2019 Tony Award for Choreography, this hit musical “follows The Temptations’ extraordinary journey from the streets of Detroit to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.” With smooth harmonies and fabulous footwork, the production brings the group’s unforgettable hits like “My Girl” and “Just My Imagination” to life onstage.
“Annie” (April 5-7, 2024)
The world’s best-known orphan reminds us that “It’s the Hard Knock Life” – until she finds her forever family – in this Tony Award-winning musical set in Depression-era New York.
“Mrs. Doubtfire” (May 14-19, 2024)
Broadway’s favorite Scottish nanny takes the stage in a heartwarming musical based on the popular film about an out-of-work actor determined to spend time with his children.
“Clue” (June 18-23, 2024)
Six guests gather at Boddy Manor, leading to the ultimate whodunit inspired by the classic Hasbro board game. Was it Professor Plum in the library with the rope? Or Mrs. Peacock in the study with the wrench?
See Me As I Am
Lincoln Center’s Year-long Celebration of Terance Blanchard
One New Orleans artist is having a big year on a very big stage. In March 2023, Lincoln Center launched “See Me As I Am,” a year-long celebration of Terance Blanchard’s extensive body of work. Blanchard, a New Orleans native, has built a career over four decades and multiple disciplines as a renowned composer, bandleader, and trumpeter. Blanchard’s work has reached audiences worldwide, earning seven Grammy Awards and two Oscar nominations among other accolades.
“See Me As I Am” is Lincoln Center’s first cross-campus exploration of a single artist, with the series spanning jazz, opera, chamber music, orchestral music, film scores, and more in collaboration with seven arts organizations: Film at Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Juilliard School, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, The Metropolitan Opera, New York Philharmonic, and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.
Blanchard’s “Fire Shut Up in My Bones” premiered at the Metropolitan Opera to open their 2021-22 season, the first opera by a Black composer to premiere at the Met. Blanchard’s earlier opera, “Champion,” premiered in 2013 and was performed at the Met in April 2023. His compositions also include scores for dozens of feature films, including many in collaboration with director Spike Lee.
The Orpheum Theatre
129 Roosevelt Way
504-274-4871
orpheumnola.net
This landmark theatre dates back to 1921. Its opulent hall hosts performances throughout the year; check the website for updated schedules.
Bad Omens: Concrete Forever (September 4, 2023)
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (September 15, 2023)
Fortune Feimster: Live, Laugh, Love (September 16, 2023)
Corinne Bailey Rae: The Black Rainbows Tour (September 26, 2023)
Mt. Joy (October 17, 2023)
Kesha: The Gag Order Tour (October 18, 2023)
Raphael Saadiq Revisits Tony! Toni! Toné (October 27, 2023)
My Morning Jacket: Fall Tour 2023 (October 31, 2023)
Men I Trust (November 10, 2023)
Mark Normand: Ya Don’t Say (November 25, 2023)
Liz Phair: Guyville Tour (November 30, 2023)
Dirty Dancing in Concert (December 10, 2023)
Music Box Village
4557 N. Rampart St.
musicboxvillage.com
Billing itself as “New Orleans Airlift’s ongoing experiment in ‘musical architecture,’” this sonic sculpture garden offers interactive art and serves as a performance space, artist residencies, and interdisciplinary works. Check the website for an updated event calendar.
Alabaster DePlume in the Music Box Village (September 20, 2023)
New Orleans Museum of Art
One Collins C. Diboll Circle, City Park
504-658-4100
noma.org
Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour (through November 26, 2023)
This exhibition explores America’s fashion heritage, with its impressive history of spirit and innovation. More than 100 American designers and brands are featured, from contemporary garments to pieces dating back to the 19th century.
Photogenic: Photographs from the Collection of Cherye R. and James F. Pierce (through September 10, 2023)
Ring Redux: The Susan Grant Lewin Collection (through February 4, 2024)
Ninety international artists explore an “enduring jewelry form” with innovation and experimentation in materials and craft.
Monochromes: Japanese Zen Paintings and Ceramics (through November 5, 2023)
This exhibition showcases Zen paintings and calligraphies from the Edo period (1603-1867) along with monochrome or unglazed ceramics created during the past 50 years.
New at NOMA: Recent Acquisitions in Contemporary Art (through December 31, 2023)
These works include contemporary art recently purchased or gifted to the museum, with a focus on works by BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and female-identifying artists.
Ogden Museum of Southern Art
925 Camp St.
504-539-9650
Ogdenmuseum.org
Louisiana Contemporary 2023 (August 5, 2023 – February 18, 2024)
Ogden Museum of Southern Art first launched Louisiana Contemporary, presented by The Helis Foundation, in 2012 to showcase the practice of artists working across Louisiana. This statewide, juried exhibition promotes contemporary art in Louisiana and provides an opportunity to exhibit living artists’ work and connect with a contemporary audience. This year’s guest juror, Aleesa Pitchamarn Alexander, has selected 45 works by 31 artists from a total of 790 submissions.
New Orleans: Elegance & Decadence, Photographs by Richard Sexton (September 16 – November 26, 2023)
Richard Sexton’s book New Orleans: Elegance and Decadence celebrates 30 years since its release. This exhibition presents 17 photographs from the classic volume that highlight the homes, collections, and landscapes of a selection of New Orleans’ creative community in the 1990s.
Knowing Who We Are: From 19th Century Academic Painting Through Southern Regionalism (through March 3, 2024)
This exhibition follows the development of art in the American South starting with 19th century landscape and portraiture. “The third floor of Goldring Hall illustrates how, with each new development – from early photography, Impressionism, Tonalism, the Arts & Crafts Movement and Symbolism through American Scene Painting, Social Realism and Regionalism – Southern artists responded with a distinct blend of tradition and innovation along with a steadfast awareness of the power of place.”
Knowing Who We Are: The Rise of Abstraction, Vernacular Art and Photography (through March 3, 2024)
This exhibition features the works of artists exploring abstraction in the post-World-War-II American South, those embracing self-taught and visionary art in the late 20th century, and photographers applying studio practices from commercial portraiture and journalism to evolving dialogues in 20th century contemporary art.
Le Petit Theatre
616 St. Peter St.
504-522-2081
lepetittheatre.com
This French Quarter gem sits at the city’s cultural epicenter. The historic theater dates to 1922 and provides a stage for productions that showcase the area’s best professional talent across a range of dramatic, musical, and comedic productions.
“Let the Right One In”
(October 5-22, 2023)
This “enchanting, brutal vampire myth and coming-of-age love story” was written by Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist and adapted for the stage by Jack Thorne. The play was adapted from the best-selling novel and award-winning film.
“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (January 11-28, 2024)
Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” was first staged in 1962 and explores a tale of “seduction, drama, and despair” centered on the complicated marriage of George and Martha. Recipient of the 1963 Tony Award for Best Play, Albee’s tale remains compelling to this day.
“Beautiful: The Carole King Musical” (March 7-31, 2024)
The Tony and Grammy Award-winning show follows the life of hit singer-songwriter Carole King from her Brooklyn youth to musical legend and member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Words and music by Gerry Goffin, Carole King, Barry Mann & Cynthia Weil; book by Douglas McGrath, music by arrangement with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).
“Born With Teeth”
(April 25 – May 12, 2024)
In this “punk-edged” play by Liz Duffy Adams, playwrights Kit Marlowe and Will Shakespeare “meet in the back room of a pub to collaborate on a history play cycle, navigate the perils of art under a totalitarian regime, and flirt like young men with everything to lose.”
“The Importance of Being Earnest” (June 6-23, 2024)
Oscar Wilde’s much-loved farcical comedy, threaded with mistaken identity and romantic entanglements, was first performed in London in 1895 – but its wit still resonates. “Pandemonium breaks out when the fictitious “Ernest” is involved. Can anyone save the day?”
Crescent City Stage
This theatrical organization led by Michael A. Newcomer, Jana Mestecky, and Elizabeth Elkins Newcomer was formed to provide a “diverse environment for the creation of theatre to thrive, enlighten, empower, educate, enhance, and evolve in the Greater New Orleans and surrounding areas.” In addition to its regular calendar of theatrical productions, Crescent City Stage also offers its CCS Studio Series of classes ranging from beginning acting to advanced technique courses. Check the website for an updated schedule.
“A Christmas Carol” (December 7-22, 2023)
This holiday season, Crescent City Stage will feature a production of Patrick Barlow’s new version of the classic tale in the Marquette Theater on the Loyola University campus. In Barlow’s take, five actors bring the story and its hundreds of characters to life.
Contemporary Arts Center
900 Camp St.
504-528-3800
cacno.org
Who Lit the Fire? Gulf South Open Call (August 5-October 8, 2023)
In the CAC’s 10th annual open call, curated by Anita N. Bateman, Ph.D., artists working across the Gulf South respond to the question: “What are the unrealized potentials imagined in the eradication of systemic oppression that move us beyond the necessity for resilience and responsiveness to perpetual threat?”
The Joy Theater
1200 Canal St.
504-766-8051
thejoytheater.com
Since its birth in 1947 as one of the city’s first “modern” movie theaters, the Joy has brought entertainment to generations of New Orleanians within its grand Art Deco walls on Canal Street. A significant renovation in recent years has restored the venue to its glory, allowing the Joy to host concerts, shows, and other events.
Tim Heidecker: The Two Tims Summer Tour ’23 (August 3, 2023)
Killer Mike – The High & Holy Tour (August 5, 2023)
JPEGMafia & Danny Brown – Scaring the Hoes (August 22, 2023)
Weyes Blood – In Holy Flux Tour: Unleashed (August 23, 2023)
Yung Bleu – Love Scars (September 2, 2023)
Jessie Murph Presents the Cowboys and Angels Tour (September 13, 2023)
Clozee – Microworlds North American Tour (October 8, 2023)
Raye: My 21st Century Blues World Tour (October 15, 2023)
Chappell Roan (October 28, 2023)
Pod Save America (November 10, 2023)
LSDream: The Radical Audio Visual Experience (November 11, 2023)
Darren Knight: Southern Momma & Friends Comedy Tour (November 12, 2023)
Not Another D&D (November 14, 2023)
Hannah Berner (November 15, 2023)
New Orleans Opera Association
2504 Prytania St.
Box office: 504-529-3000
neworleansopera.org
General and Artistic Director Clare Burovac leads New Orleans Opera in its 81st season featuring four powerful productions at the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts.
“The Marriage of Figaro” (September 29, October 1, 2023)
Mozart’s famed comedy conveys thinly veiled class commentary and a battle of the sexes in this popular work that has become of the most performed operas of the canon.
“Blue” (November 10, 12, 2023)
“Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori and NAACP Theatre Award-winning librettist Tazewell Thompson’s new opera is inspired by contemporary events and Black literature, including Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Between the World and Me and James Baldwin’s The Fire Next Time.”
“Lisette!” (December 1, 2023)
Lisette Oropesa in concert. One of the most in-demand lyric coloraturas performing today, Oropesa will be curating an evening of French and Italian arias from the Bel Canto period by composers such as Donizetti, Rossini, and Bellini, among others.
“Lucia di Lammermoor” (March 22, 24, 2024)
This story drawn from an actual incident between two rival Scottish families in political opposition could appear in any contemporary true crime podcast. Katrina Galka sings the title role.
Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra
2533 Columbus St., Ste. 202 and the Orpheum Theatre
Box office: 504-523-6530
lpomusic.com
For the 2023-24 season, the LPO welcomes Music Director and Principal Conductor Matthew Kraemer. The orchestra’s primary performance home is the Orpheum Theatre, but they also perform at venues across the area, including concerts on the Northshore. All concerts below at the Orpheum Theatre; check the website for full event calendar.
Opening Night: Beethoven Symphony No. 5 (September 14, 2023)
The LPO opens the 2023-24 season with new Music Director Matthew Kraemer and Beethoven’s powerful 5th symphony.
Price & Prokofiev (October 5, 2023)
Guest conductor Jonathan Taylor Rush conducts a program featuring works by William Grant Still, Florence Price, and Sergei Prokofiev.
Porgy & Bess: A Symphonic Picture (November 16, 2023)
“Tales of love, loss, and family ties are expressed from the African American perspective in this stirring program” featuring works by Coleridge-Taylor Perkinson, Margaret Bonds, William Grant Still, and George Gershwin.
Classical Christmas: Handel Messiah (December 14, 2023)
The LPO helps bring the beauty of the holiday season to the Orpheum Theatre with Handel’s Messiah and its dramatic Hallelujah Chorus.
Birth of a Culture (January 25, 2024)
Matthew Kraemer leads an evening of premieres in concert for New Orleans. Big Chief Juan Pardo joins the LPO for a world premier piece by Maxim Samarov about the unique culture of the Mardi Gras Indians. New work by Arlene Sierra and a preview of Wynton Marsalis’ Concerto for Orchestra will also be performed.
Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 4 (March 7, 2024)
Guest conductor Kalena Bovell makes her LPO debut with a program featuring Tchaikovsky’s fourth symphony and Jennifer Higdon’s blue cathedral.
New Orleans Ballet Association
935 Gravier St., Ste. 800
504-522-0996
Nobadance.com
The New Orleans Ballet Association is the state leading dance presenting and service organization, bringing dance to the community through its Main Stage Series as well as comprehensive programming that addresses educational, health/wellness, and arts healing needs across the community. This season’s Main Stage performances present dance companies across genres to the stage at the Mahalia Jackson Theater, in partnership with NOCCA and Tulane University.
Complexions Contemporary Ballet (October 21, 2023)
Under the leadership of dance icons Dwight Rhoden and Desmond Richardson, Complexions Contemporary Ballet has brought its mission of “bringing unity to the world one dance at a time” to stages in more than 20 countries. This performance will feature the NOBA commissioned world premiere of a new piece choreographed by Rhoden to the music of Chief Adjuah (formerly Christian Scott), a New Orleans native and critically acclaimed jazz artist, among other works.
The Nutcracker Suite (December 3, 2023 – Date TBD)
More than 200 of NOBA’s dancers, aged 6-70+ from its tuition-free programs, perform Tchaikovsky’s holiday classic in a new one-hour production that’s ideal for the whole family.
Compañia Nacional de Danza (January 20, 2024)
The National Dance Company of Spain brings its classical, neoclassical, and contemporary dance repertoire back to New Orleans after more than 20 years with a program of three classic works: White Darkness, a one-act ballet created as a requiem and choreographed by Nacho Duato; Sad Case, a work by Sol León and Paul Lightfoot which “embodies the fiery, syncopated rhythms of Mexican mambo; and Passengers Within, set to music by Philip Glass.
Les Ballets de Monte Carlo (March 1, 2, 2024)
The official national company of the Principality of Monaco was established in 1985 by the Princess of Hanover in accordance with the wishes of her mother, Princess Grace, to continue the nation’s tradition of dance. In New Orleans, the company of more than 50 dancers will present Jean-Christophe Maillot’s dazzling reimagined take on Swan Lake.
Parsons Dance with The Allen Toussaint Orchestra (April 20, 2024)
The company led by artistic director David Parsons presents a program including Caught, “a gravity-defying fusion of art and technology,” and a presentation celebrating the 10th anniversary of Whirlaway. This critically acclaimed work was originally commissioned by NOBA and premiered at the Mahalia Jackson Theater in 2014 and will feature a soundtrack of hits from Allen Toussaint. Reginald Toussaint and The Allen Toussaint Orchestra will join the company in tribute to a New Orleans legend.
Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts
325 Minor St.
504-461-9475
rivertowntheaters.com
This beloved spot in Kenner’s Rivertown neighborhood brings a broad array of spectacular musical, family-oriented, and other programming to the stage.
“Disenchanted!” (August 11-20, 2023)
Gary Rucker directs this musical comedy by Dennis T. Giacino that digs a little deeper into the world of Disney’s most famous princesses: “Poisoned apples. Glass slippers. Who needs ‘em?! Not Snow White and her posse of disenchanted princesses in the new musical comedy that’s anything but Grimm.”
“Singin’ In the Rain” (September 8-24, 2023)
Ricky Graham directs this classic stage musical adapted from the 1952 film. The stage musical was first performed in 1983 and offers a lighthearted look at a group of Hollywood performers navigating the move between the eras of silent films and sound pictures.
“Assassins” (October 20 – November 5, 2023)
Gary Rucker directs Stephen Sondheim’s darkly humorous musical about a group of historical figures who attempted to assassinate U.S. presidents over two centuries, leaving their fingerprints on the nation’s history.
“A Christmas Story: The Musical”
(December 1-17, 2023)
Ralphie is back in this stage musical version of the classic 1983 film. Ricky Graham directs a cast of characters in 1940s Indiana, including the boy who wants nothing more for Christmas than a Red Ryder BB Gun.
“The Big Easy Boys: Just Because”
(January 12-26, 2024)
The “throwback quartet with tight harmonies and precision movement” brings its musical stylings to the Rivertown stage.
“The Prom” (March 8-24, 2024)
Kelly Fouchi directs this musical about the intersection of fading Broadway stars, a small-town controversy, and a message of love and inclusion.
“Sister Act: A Divine Musical Comedy”
(May 3-19, 2024)
Gary Rucker brings us back to the convent where aspiring singer Deloris Van Cartier goes to hide out and ends up helping her fellow sisters find their voices in the process.
“Mean Girls” (July 11-21, 2024)
Kelly Fouchi directs this musical based on the 2004 film by the same name. High school newcomer Cady Heron encounters the intimidating “Plastics” and must confront the tension between fitting in and losing herself to the perils of popularity.
Jefferson Performing Arts Society
Jefferson Performing Arts Center, 6400 Airline Dr.
Westwego Cultural Center, 177 Sala Ave.
504-885-2000
jpas.org
The Jefferson Performing Arts Society presents its 46th season of musicals, drama, dance, and more at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center and the Westwego Cultural Center.
“The View Upstairs” (September 8-17, 2023)
“Take a step back in time to the French Quarter in 1973 as the patrons of the UpStairs Lounge help a modern-day millennial reevaluate his concepts of love and freedom.” At Jefferson Performing Arts Center.
“Steel Magnolias” (September 21-October 1, 2023)
Join this group of strong Southern women as they navigate the joys and hardships of small-town life in fictional Chinquapin Parish. Based on the 1987 Broadway drama and hit film that followed, the Steel Magnolias take us back to the beauty salon to laugh and cry along. At Westwego Cultural Center.
“Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein”
(October 27, 29, November 2, 4, 5, 2023)
Mad scientist Frederick Frankenstein follows in the footsteps of his monster-making grandfather in this madcap musical by Mel Brooks. At Jefferson Performing Arts Center.
“Looped” (November 9-19, 2023)
Revisit a notorious day in the life of Hollywood star Tallulah Bankhead in this three-person drama filled with secrets, confessions, and more. At Westwego Cultural Center.
“The Mountaintop” (January 25 – February 4, 2024)
In this two-person drama, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spends the evening after delivering his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech conversing with a hotel maid. In the night before his assassination, they reflect on life, achievements, shortcomings, and unfinished dreams. At Westwego Cultural Center.
“Jesus Christ Superstar”
(March 15, 16, 21, 23, 24, 2024)
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1971 rock opera tells the story of Jesus’ crucifixion in bold, energetic fashion, juxtaposing a modern perspective on a narrative that transformed human history. At Jefferson Performing Arts Center.
“Noises Off” (April 12, 14, 18, 20, 21, 2024)
This delightful farce follows a touring theatre troupe as they work through a production of sex comedy ‘Nothing On.” Enjoy the ups, downs, mishaps, and misunderstandings that accompany a cast over the course of the show’s run.
