Motorsports Park regularly hosts Kart racing, too
April 3, 2013
Andrew Calise Freeman
April 8, 2013
Theater
“BATTLE OF ANGELS”
Through April 6
Val Xavier, a virile young drifter, arrives in a sleepy, small rural Mississippi town. He takes a job in the dry goods store run by a love-starved woman whose husband lies dying upstairs, and his smoldering animal magnetism soon draws out her latent sexual passion. Tongues begin to wag at the liaison.
At the All-Ways Theatre and Lounge, 2240 St. Claude Ave., Faubourg Marigny, New Orleans. (504) 264-1776. www.thealwayslounge.net. ($15)
“MOLD”
Through April 14
The final play in the Rising Water Trilogy, John Biguenet’s play is set the summer after the levee collapse and subsequent flooding of New Orleans. A young husband is forced to choose between his wife and the city he loves.
At the Contemporary Arts Center, 900 Camp St., New Orleans. (504) 522-6545. www.southernrep.com. ($20-$35)
“MISCASTED”
Through April 17
This weekly revue takes popular snippets of stagework, monologues from theatre and musicals and flip-flops the roles, presenting the selections performed by a person of a different gender, age or race.
At the Shadowbox Theatre, 2400 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans. (504) 298-8876. www.shadowboxtheatre.com. ($10)
“GOD OF CARNAGE”
April 5-6 & 11-14
A playground altercation between 11-year-old boys brings together two sets of Brooklyn parents for a meeting to resolve the matter. At first, diplomatic niceties are observed, but as the meeting progresses, and the rum flows, tensions emerge and the gloves come off.
At the Thibodaux Playhouse Inc., 314 St. Mary St., Thibodaux. (985) 446-1896. ($15 adults; $10 students)
“THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES”
April 5-6
The show dives into the mystery, humor, pain, power, wisdom, outrage and excitement buried in women’s experiences.
At Mid-City Theatre, 3540 Toulouse St., New Orleans. (504) 488-1460. www.midcitytheatre.com. ($20)
“SPELL #7”
April 5-28
This choreopoem by the author of “For Colored Girls” is set in St. Louis in a bar frequented by Black artists and musicians. It is another meditation on the irony of being Black in a white world. The artists bare their souls in soliloquies, many of them illustrated in mood dances.
At the Anthony Bean Community Theater, 1333 S. Carrollton Ave., New Orleans. (504) 862-PLAY. www.anthonybeantheater.com. ($20)
“FIDDLER ON THE ROOF JR.”
April 5-7
In the village of Anatevka, Tevye, a poor dairyman, tries to instill in his five daughters the traditions of his tight-knit Jewish community in the face of changing social mores and the growing anti-Semitism of Czarist Russia.
At the Jefferson Performing Arts Society, 1118 Clearview Parkway, Metairie. (504) 885-2000. www.jpas.org. ($18 adults; $10 children 12 and under)
“THE WITNESS”
April 10-11
Recounts the true story of the 1989 murders of six Jesuits and their housekeepers in El Salvador as seen through the eyes of the witnesses.
At Loyola University, 6363 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans. (504) 865-3840. cmfa.loyno.edu.
“MADAME BUTTERFLY”
April 12-14
A Japanese maiden catches the fancy of a caddish American Naval officer, crosses cultural boundaries to become his bride, and grapples with a serious dilemma while faithfully awaiting his return. Puccini’s story of tradition, romance, yearning and sacrifice has been one of the world’s most beloved operas for more than a century.
At the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, 1419 Basin St., New Orleans. (504) 526-1052. ($42-$226)
“ANNIE”
April 13-14
The popular comic strip “Annie” tells the extraordinary story of a little orphan who ends up in the lap of luxury with Depression-era billionaire Oliver Warbucks.
At the E.D. White Catholic High School Main Gym, Thibodaux. (985) 446-8486. mcortez@htdiocese.org. ($7 adults, $5 students)
“SORDID LIVES”
April 12-27
The comedic story of unconditional love, acceptance and “coming out” in a Texas family, as they all converge for the matriarch’s funeral. The eccentric characters include a mother who is wound too tight and in denial over her gay son, a barfly/singer at the local watering hole, a cheating heart whose wooden legs accidentally aid in the death of his mistress, Peggy, a good Christian woman (and the family matriarch), in a motel room.
At the Attractions Salon, 747 Robert Road, Slidell. (985) 639-8294. ($20)
“THIS SWEATY CITY”
April 12-13
A magical realist radio story about the inhabitants of a water-laden city, eerily similar to New Orleans, in which bicycles have personalities and bureaucratic offices operate on moving steamboats.
At the Shadowbox Theatre, 2400 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans. (504) 298-8676. www.theshadowboxtheatre.com. ($10)
“ALMOST MAINE”
April 16-21
As the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky over the mythical town of Almost, Maine, residents find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend – almost in this midwinter night’s dream.
At Tulane University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, New Orleans. (504) 865-5269. www.tulane.edu/liberal-arts/theatre-dance/box-office.cfm. ($12)
“MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET”
April 16-21
Inspired by the true story of the famed recording session that brought together rock ‘n’ roll icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the first and only time. The musical brings the audience inside the recording studio.
At the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, 1419 Basin St., New Orleans. (504) 526-1052. ($40-105)
“ROUNDING THIRD”
April 18-28
A two-man play about baseball and the life lessons it represents, “Rounding Third” pits winning at all costs versus having fun as dissonant coaches struggle with the best way to apprach their Little League squad.
At Le Petit Theatre de Terrebonne, 7829 Main St., Houma. (985) 876-4278 or www.houmalittletheatre.com. ($15)
“THE CLIFTON MONROE CHRONICLES: THE CASE OF BROADWAY BETTY”
April 18 through May 5
In episode three of the adventures of ace reporter, Clifton Monroe and his quirky sidekick Mattie scour the streets of New Orleans. When a Broadway star arrives in town, so do multiple murders. What is her connection to these sinister crimes and just who is lurking behind the curtain, waiting to turn off the spotlight on her career?
At the Shadowbox Theatre, 2400 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans. (504) 298-8676. www.theshadowboxtheatre.com. ($12)
“SHOW BOAT”
April 19 through May 12
Spanning 1880 to 1927, this production concerns the lives, loves and heartbreaks of three generations of show folk on the Mississippi, in Chicago and on Broadway. Includes hits “Ol’ Man River,” “Make Believe” and “Can’t Help Lovin’ Dat Man.”
At the Slidell Little Theatre, 2024 Nellie Drive, Slidell. (985) 641-0324. www.slidelllittletheatre.org. ($20)
“6X6”
April 24
Six staged readings of six brand new 10-minute plays exploring themes close to the heart of New Orleans.
At the Mid-City Theatre, 3540 Toulouse St., New Orleans. (504) 488-1460. www.MidCityTheatre.com. ($10)
“FROST/NIXON”
April 26 through May 19
The showdown interviews between British talk-show host David Frost and disgraced former President Richard M. Nixon. Frost risked everything on the series of in-depth interviews in order to extract an apology from Nixon.
At the Westwego Performing Arts Theatre, 177 Sala Ave., Westwego. (504) 885-2000. www.jpas.org. ($30)
“THE TAMING OF THE SHREW”
April 30 through May 5
Beautiful Bianca’s father insists she is not allowed to marry until her shrewish sister, Katharina, is betrothed. Bianca’s suitors persuade fortune-seeker Patruchio to court her. He intends to “tame” Katharina for the purpose of marriage, but has met his match in Shakespeare’s classic battle of the sexes.
At the University of New Orleans, 307 Performing Arts Center, New Orleans. (504) 280-SHOW.
Dance
“ABOVE THE OAKS”
April 4-7
The Newcomb Dance Company presents its spring dance concert.
At Tulane University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, McWilliams Room 300, New Orleans. (504) 865-5269. tulane.edu/liberal-arts/theatre-dance. ($12)
“PAUL TAYLOR DANCE”
April 9
Now in its 55th year, Paul Taylor Dance Company – 16 dancers and the six-member company Taylor 2 – has performed in more than 520 cities in 62 countries.
At the Columbia Theatre, 220 E. Thomas St., Hammond. (985) 543-4371. www.columbiatheatre.org. ($36-$40)
Music
“SHOSTAKOVICH SYMPHONY NO. 9”
April 6
Violist Roberto Diaz, a professor of viola at Curtis and former principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra, performs with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.
At the Mahalia Jackson Theater, 1419 Basin St., New Orleans. (504) 525-1052. www.mahaliajacksontheater.com. ($20-$99)
“9th WARD OPERA”
April 17-21
The 9th Ward Opera performs two one-act operas, “From Maid to Mistress” and “Frauenliebe und leben.” The first traces the life and love of a woman and the second tells the tale of a conniving maid and her gullible master.
At the Marigny Opera House, 725 St. Ferdinand St., New Orleans. (504) 568-2022. www.marignyoperahouse.org. ($20)
“JOHN BOUTTE”
April 18
Voted the Best of the Beat and the Big Easy Awards’ “Best Male Vocalist of the Year,” Boutte’s song “Treme” serves as the theme of HBO’s series by the same name and has catapulted the New Orleans singer into the spotlight.
At the Pavilion of the Two Sisters Botanical Garden – City Park, New Orleans. (504) 483-9386. garden.neworleanscitypark.com. ($10)
E.D. White Catholic High School presents “Annie,” the musical based on the popular comic strip in which an orphan is adopted by a Depression-era billionaire who offers to help Annie find her real parents. Olivia Schouest is Annie in the high-school performance,s scheduled for 2 and 7 p.m. April 13 and 2 p.m. April 14 in the E.D. White Main Gym. Tickets cost $7 for adults and $5 for students. FOr more information, call (985) 446-8486.
