In New Orleans, anything that's about Tennessee Williams, or is Williams-adjacent, draws attention.
Salvage Art Production produces a work about the playwright's sister, Rose, and it promises to be a unique bit of entertainment at Marigny Opera House.
"Miss Rose," written by Ken Prestininzi and Christopher Winslow, is a fanciful cabaret act that explores the relationship between the siblings, taking place in the dining hall of an asylum.
A victim of a prefrontal lobotomy authorized by their mother, Rose was the model for the fragile Laura Wingfield in "The Glass Menagerie" and was the muse for many other character elements in some of her brother's best-known works, including "A Streetcar Named Desire," "Suddenly Last Summer" and "Summer and Smoke."
"The show uses music and wonderful dialogue to share the relationship between Tennessee and his sister" and looks at the events of several of the writer's visits to see his sister, said Leicester Landon, who plays Tennessee. She remained institutionalized for the remainder of her life.
Rebecca Gibel takes the role of Rose and Alston Brown is Jerry. Prestininzi, Landon and Brown are founding members of Salvage Art.
The production opens at 8 p.m. Saturday and runs Thursdays to Saturdays through July 1 at 725 St. Ferdinand St. in New Orleans. Tickets start at $15. Visit marignyoperahouse.org.
Necessary 'Tempest'
A night of Shakespeare done without a script could fall into either of Bard's two categories: comedy or tragedy.
But in the hands of the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival, the NOLA Project and Big Couch, chances are hilarity will ensue Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Lupin Theatre, 150 Dixon Hall Annex, on Tulane's Uptown campus.
"By Any Scenes Necessary: 'The Tempest'" is an improvisational, interactive work of theater that puts a cast without a script in the hands of suggestions from the audience. "Strap yourselves in …"
Taking the dare (without care) to perform are Noah Hazzard, Mary Jacobs, Lynae Leblanc, Emily Slazer, Brittany Williams, Mary Guiteras, Scott Anderson and Carrie Moulder.
Tickets start at $25. Visit neworleansshakespeare.org.
Al fresco fun
An evening of opera and Broadway tunes will be the scene under the stars at Piazza D'Italia when the American Italian Cultural Center celebrates music Friday at 7 p.m. at 337 Poydras St.
Vocalists Sophia Parigi, Kathleen Halm, Valencia Pleasant, Tyler Smith and Richard Hobson will sing a host of works by some of Italy's famous opera composers, including Puccini, Verdi and Rossini. Works planned include "O mio babbino caro" from "Gianni Schicchi, "Donde lieta" and "O Mimi tu piu non torni" from "La Bohème," and "Donna non vidi mai" from "Manon Lescaut."
The second half the program features hits from shows including "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" from "The Sound of Music" by Rodgers and Hammerstein, "It Ain't Necessarily So" from "Porgy and Bess" by George Gershwin and "All I Ask of You" from "Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Tickets start at $25. Food and beverage vendors will be on hand and chairs are suggested. Tickets are available at eventbrite.
'Peanuts' in the River Parishes
Charlie Brown, Linus, Snoopy, Lucy and all the memorable character from the mind of Charles Schulz come to live singing and dancing on the stage at River Region Drama Guild in Norco.
"You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" is the musical adaptation of the classic strip cartoon begun in 1950 about a hapless chap, his lovable Beagle and his friends and family, usually without any grown-ups. The musical debuted in 1967 and included such Peanuts-worthy tunes as "Snoopy," "The Book Report," "My New Philosophy" and "Suppertime."
The family-friendly production, often featuring adults in the cast (like Kristen Chenoweth who won a Tony as "Lucy"), features a wide range of actors in the local production.
Caleb Cantrell takes the title role, while Michael Shavor is Snoopy. The cast also includes Amarissa Missios, Mary Reinagel, Will Reinagel, Isaiah Wingard, Tatum Guillot, Chelsea Diaz, Sarah Mire and Bailey Windmann. Madison Smith directs.
The show opens at June 22 at 7:30 p.m. and runs Thursdays to Saturdays through July 1. A 2 p.m. matinee is planned June 25 at the River Region Performing Arts and Cultural Center, 15146 River Road, in Norco. Tickets start at $10. Visit rrpa.org.
An 'Elvis' sighting?
Youthful tribute artist Finley Watkins comes to Cutting Edge Theater to bring his tribute stage show with a touch of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Buddy Holly.
That's a whole lot of "rockabilly," especially for a 14-year-old.
The multi-instrument singer and songwriter will perform June 23-24 at 8 p.m. at the 767 Robert Blvd., Slidell, theater. Tickets start at $32. Visit cuttingedgetheater.com.
Opening this week
'The Music Man' brings 'Seventy-Six Trombones' and a lot of fun to Tulane's Summer Lyric Theater June 15. Taking roles in the production are, from left, Ryan Reilly and Rachel Looney as Harold Hill and Marian Paroo.
"THE MUSIC MAN": Opening 7:30 p.m. Thursday to Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane, Dixon Hall, Newcomb Circle, Tulane University Uptown campus. Crammed with familiar songs like "Seventy-Six Trombones," Meredith Willson's show tells the story of shady traveling salesman Harold Hill and his efforts to con a town full of gullible Iowans out of money with a promised boys' band that, in the past, has never materialized — just as Hill catches the last train out of town. Tickets start at $30. liberalarts.tulane.edu/summer-lyric-theatre.
Taking roles in Crescent City Stage's production of 'Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike' are, from left, Yvette Bourgeois, Jana Mestecky, Doug Spearman, Lorene Chesley and Cody Evans, with Donya Asante in the foreground.
"VANYA AND SONIA AND MASHA AND SPIKE": Opening 7:30 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, plus June 27-28, and 2:30 p.m. June 18, 24-25 and 30; Crescent City Stage, Marquette Theater, Marquette Hall, Loyola University Uptown campus. Christopher Durang's comedy on characters and themes from Anton Chekhov and, as the author describes, "mixes them up and puts them in a blender." Tickets start at $10. Visit crescentcitystage.com.
In production
"BILLIE & ELLA": 12:45 p.m. Wednesday; BB's Stage Door Canteen, The National WWII Museum, 945 Magazine St., New Orleans. The super talents of Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald are paired in a show filled with jazz, blues and conversation between the duo. An option for a luncheon buffet is available, starting at 11:45 a.m. Tickets start at $42. nationalww2museum.org.
Gordon Carmadelle, center, stars as Max Bialystock in 'The Producers' at 30 by Ninety Theatre in Mandeville. The shady Broadway impresario successfully cons several 'grannies' out of money to produce what he hopes will be a huge flop. Taking the roles of the wealthy matrons are, from left, Lilly Vita, Sara Chauppette, Halle Koepp and Lindsey Andry.
"THE PRODUCERS": 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2:30 p.m. Sundays through July 2; 30 by Ninety Theatre, 880 Lafayette St., Mandeville. Mel Brook's story of two hapless Broadway producers, trying to put on the world's worst show in a scheme to bilk investors out of millions by staging the dreadful "Springtime for Hitler," with some key twists to history. Tickets start at $22. 30byninety.com.
'Twelfth Night,' the comedy of gender switching and criss-crossed affections, will be the opening show of the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival's 2023 season, with from left, Brittany N. Williams, Ben Dougherty and Payj Ruffins in the show set in 1950s Italy. The show opens June
"TWELFTH NIGHT": 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays through June 24, 1:30 p.m. Sunday and June 24; New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane, 150 Dixon Hall Annex, Uptown. William Shakespeare's classic tale of twins separated by a shipwreck and their lives and loves as they masquerade and meander through Italy in the 1950s. Tickets start at $25. neworleansshakespeare.org.