Spirits and demons and Carnival, oh my!
Ghoulish good times are headed for the theaters of New Orleans in the coming days as the city plunges headlong into the theatricality of Carnival (costumes, makeup, music, mirth).
So prepare for the season of sensations and spirits as January gets started with a bang.
Spirited show
It was World War II, and London was being bombed by Germany. Times were bleak, and Noel Coward was about to debut a comedy, “Blithe Spirit.”
“Written as a tonic for those grim months at the beginning of World War II, it still seems fresh today,” said director Ricky Graham. “A little frivolous fun is just the thing most of us need right now.”
Indeed. Graham and company will raise the specters of Coward’s comic farce Jan. 8-25 at Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré in the French Quarter.
The pithy play features a writer who invites a slightly off-kilter medium to dinner for a seance to gather information for a planned book. However, the writer’s first wife (dead for seven years and not a really great person) is brought forth, and only he can see her. Havoc reigns as she tries to make his life miserable, the second wife is pestered and surprises and mayhem ensue.
“I fell in love with Noel Coward when I first saw the movie version over 50 years ago,” said Graham, who will also appear in the show as the medium. “Although I love all his plays, I think this is his best. The flawlessly tight construction, the characters, the believable complications (as long as you accept a sprightly afterlife) define what is known as a ‘well-made play.'”
So how did he “stumble” into the role of the medium, played most recently on Broadway by Angela Lansbury?
Ricky Graham
“Playing Madame Arcati was a last-minute measure due to a fabulous cast member having to drop out. I’m splitting my time between directing duties and learning the delicious Coward lines.”
Joining him will be Vatican Lokey as the writer, Jessie Terrebonne as the first wife, Ashley Santos as the second wife, with Kyle Daigrepont, Bethany Lee and Ashley Smetherman Lemmler.
“Everyone in the cast — who are all spectacular comic actors — and (Le Petit artist director) A.J. Allegra have been my safety net to get me through,” said Graham. “All in all, I’m very proud of what we’ve all created. I hope everyone finds this production lots of fun, but still very human — and positively ghostly!”
The show is at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays and at 2 p.m. for a matinee Jan. 24 at 616 St. Peter St. Tickets start at $22. Visit lepetittheatre.com.
A dark comedy debuts
Starting the new year will be a new show with a company under a new name. And where better than at the New Marigny Theatre, 2301 Marais St.
“Stanley and His Demon” will be the first-of-the-year offering by Poppet Theater, reorganized last year from Streetcar Collective For the Arts. Mariana Santiago, the writer and director, brings the two-act comedy of satire and “supernatural chaos” to the stage starting Friday.
“The show’s dark, but enjoyably so, and features some of the most hilarious acting I’ve ever seen,” said Santiago. “The irony of producing a play about a demon and two grifters pretending to be church leaders in a venue that used to be a Catholic church hasn’t been lost upon any of us.”
The story follows Stanley, who masquerades as a church leader to peon hapless victims. He and his wife, Esme, accidentally perform a true exorcism but are stuck with the demon.
Stanley is played by Peat Wolf, while Mia Frost is Esme. Other cast includes Thugsy DaClown, Lexi Pink, Liz Johnston-Dupre, Julie Wakefield, Avery Johnson-Dupre and Rel Farrar.
The show is at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Jan. 9 and Jan. 12. Tickets are $30. Visit poppettheater.com.
On stage this week, Jan. 1-7
Maya Drake is Ali (center in red shirt) and the company of the North American Tour of Alicia Keys’ ‘Hell’s Kitchen.’ Drake is a recent high school graduate from California.
“HELL’S KITCHEN”: 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Sunday, 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Saturday; Saenger Theatre, 1111 Canal St. Family, music and life fuse into a dynamic display roughly based on Alicia Keys’ life, with a backdrop of music by the Grammy-winning singer/songwriter and author, with some of Keys’ top hits, including “Fallin’,” “Girl on Fire” and “If I Ain’t Got You,” plus new songs written for the musical. Tickets start at $39. saengernola.com.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.nola.com ’
