A Fabulous Day in New Orleans

If I had to pick one word to describe today, it would be FANTABULOUS.  Myself and three of my girlfriends purchased tickets to see the musical Hairspray at Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre when they went on sale two months ago.  Unfortunately one of the girls hasn't been feeling well and had to miss out on today's adventure.  I invited my younger cousin along because she's a huge Hairspray fan, and also because it would be a shame to waste the ticket (we had the best seats in the house - no lie). 

The production didn't start until 2pm, so we decided to make a day of it in the French Quarter.  You know, play tourist (it's fun to do that occasionally). Also, our beloved Saints were hosting the Atlanta "dirty birds" at noon, so we donned our WHO DAT gear in solidarity.  Yes, we're all crazy sports people down here.



First we roamed over to Jackson Square, which is where one of the most beautiful buildings in the world (in my opinion) stands - the St. Louis Cathedral.  I've mentioned the cathedral in previous posts, but today was completely different because for the FIRST TIME EVER, I was in Jackson Square when the doors were opened.  As many times as I've been there in my life - which is dozens - the doors have always been locked. 



Me, my cousin and girlfriends in front of St. Louis Cathedral



So, imagine my absolute delight when we realized the doors were open and we could actually go inside!  I was speechless.  I'm not Catholic, but you can't help but feel awestruck by the magnificence and beauty of it.  I found myself having to control the urge to cry.  You can feel the history when you're inside.  There really aren't enough words to describe it.  At that moment, I could have spent the rest of the day inside, just looking at the stained glass, statues, every nook and cranny.  Unfortunately we showed up in the middle of mass, so we couldn't take pictures or roam as freely as we would have liked. 

From there we strolled through the Quarter looking for someplace to eat lunch.  There are little restaurants and bistros at every corner, but we settled on a place boasting to be the "Original" New Orleans Seafood Restaurant.  I'm not sure how valid that declaration is, although on the menu they claimed to have been opened before the Battle of New Orleans.  So, take that with a grain of salt. 

My cousin and I split crabmeat au gratin with an appetizer of crab cakes.  Although I've had many various versions of seafood in my life, I had never before had crabmeat au gratin.  The coz' insisted I would love it, and I'll try anything once, so I went along with it.  Took me a bit to adjust to the texture and mix of crab meat with cheese, but it was actually pretty good.  The crab cakes were delicious.  All in all it was a little heavy for a lunch, but we all enjoyed our meals.  

The girls playing with Mardi Gras
 masks and me with my awesome new wig!



After lunch we decided to stroll through the French Market, which is basically a collection of tables covered in everything from jewelry to purses, shirts, knicknacks, etc.  Anything and everything you could want.  A thosand people selling you different versions of the same things.  (Think flea market with lots of cajun.) 

My cousin found a Bob Marley bracelet and a new Saints t-shirt, my friend found a new Who Dat shirt and I found the most awesome wig ever made:  a black and gold feathered wig - aka Saints wig (told you we were serious).  We spent an hour or so browsing the tables, then stopping in shops we passed as we made our way back towards the theatre . 

When we arrived at the theatre, we found our seats and waited for the show to start.  When we saw "The Wedding Singer" back in July, I remember thinking no other performance could live up to that one.  I was wrong.

These people did John Waters justice.  The man would be proud.  There was innuendo, raunchy, music and fun.    Surprisingly the scene stealer was a woman who played Penny's mother/matron/warden/PE coach/principal.  She was hilarious.  Also, Tracy's parents were a big hit.  I was actually surprised at how many children were there.  The material was a little too adult for young kids.  I think parents were imagining the remake of Hairspray (with Zac Efron) and forgot about John Waters' version. 

Anyhoo, the musical was wonderful and we had a fabulous day.  I can't wait to do it again!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

The Wedding Singer....and all that jazz

Last night myself and three girlfriends went to see the musical "The Wedding Singer" (based on the Adam Sandler movie) at Le Petit Theatre in New Orleans.  It was my first time seeing a musical that wasn't a high school or university production. 

Le Petit Theatre

The evening started out with the four of us beyond excited - not only to be seeing the musical, but to be having a girls' night out.  Three of us have children, and the fourth runs a daycare, so it was like a vacation to be away from the kids (and the men) for the night. 

We drove to Metairie - which, if you're like me, is the same as New Orleans (I consider everything south of Lake Pontchartrain New Orleans) - and had dinner at Mexican restaurant Chevy's. Yum.   After that we made our way to the French Quarter, where Le Petit Theatre is located.   We spent about thirty minutes trying to find parking, and ended up almost missing the beginning of the show.  Luckily we made it just in time.

Le Petit Theatre is a charming little place that sits near the famed St. Louis Cathedral in Jackson Square. 

St. Louis Cathedral

The Cathedral is one of my most favorite buildings to look at, so I had to include a picture of it for you.  I could stand out in the square and just admire it all day.  It's especially beautiful right as the sun is setting, and the sky above is varied colors of red, orange and purple.  Amazing.

But anyhoo, back to the theatre.

The full name of the theatre is Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre, and it was founded in 1917.  It is currently in its 94th season of productions, making it the oldest continuously operating community theatre in the nation.  Pretty impressive, huh?

When you first walk into the building, a massive - and beautiful - chandelier grabs your attention.  The lobby is decorated in a way that is somehow both current and reflective of its history. Then you head up the creaking staircase, and onto the balcony to be seated....

The theatre was much smaller than I anticipated, but it's not bothersome because you just feel a sense of intimacy about the room.  Someone commented that no matter where you sit - floor or balcony - you have a great view of the stage, and I believe it.  Our seats were excellent.  Second row, center. 

A glance around the theater showed signs of how very old it is.  The vents in the ceiling are stained with black, and pieces of the ceiling are crumbling or missing.  Everything about the place screams old, but it's so absolutely charming that the age just makes it that much better. 

The actors were fabulous, especially characters Robbie (lead), George (cross-dressing friend) and an unnamed black man who at one point wore a strapless silver dress and stilettos - and DANCED in them!  I was impressed. 

It was wonderful. Every song, dance, costume change, set change. All of it was utterly fabulous. I know I must have grinned throughout the entire two and a half hour show, because my face still hurts this morning.


I wasn't expecting to laugh nearly as much, and I certainly didn't expect so much of my amusement to be a result of nearby audience members.  There was a yuppy group, of which "mom" didn't realize that George was a man until about halfway through the show, then wanted to know "why is that man wearing girl clothes, and why is he dancing with the black man?"  To which her son replied, "Mom, they're gay."  "Oh," was her reply.  (Note:  George was obviously a man, and very obviously gay.)

All in all, the entire night was wonderful, and us girls decided to make a tradition out of it.  Every other month or so we will go to dinner and a theatre production.  We've already planned the next outing:  "Hairspray" will be playing at Le Petit in September.  I can't wait!

Saints in the Superbowl

The main topic of discussion around here lately is the New Orleans Saints. For the first time in franchise history they're going to the Superbowl. This is a huge deal for many different reasons. Most news stations claim the success of this season is aiding the continued effort to "rebuild" New Orleans post-Katrina. I'll admit the morale in the crescent city has improved greatly due to our beloved Saints.

I think it's hard for people who aren't sports fans (and most people outside the gulf coast region) to understand how a football team could have such a drastic effect on people. It's not really something that can be explained. For many it's just so nice to have something positive happen here after so many years of dealing with the lasting effects from Katrina, corrupt politicians and the high crime rates. There will still be hurricanes, liars in office and murders, but for just a few weeks we can forget about all of that and enjoy the high of knowing our team is great. It gives us something to cherish. We can all sit around and talk about the moment Hartley kicked the game-winning fieldgoal in overtime to send our boys to the Superbowl.

I went to Walmart the day after the championship game. The greeter at the door had a huge grin on her face. When I walked through the doors she said, "Who dat!" I smiled back and said, "Yes, ma'am!" I'd say over half the customers were donning Saints t-shirts and jerseys. Everyone just smiled at each other. The feeling in the air was strange. It was as if we were all friends, celebrating this wonderful news together. Our team, previously known as the Aints, had finally achieved the unbelievable.

After the best season since the beginning of the Saints, the WHO DATS are headed to Miami to face the Indianapolis Colts. Oddly enough, the Colts are my other favorite team. I've been a Manning fan since his UT days. On any other day I'd root for the Colts. Not against the Saints though. Although I'd be disappointed if our "team of destiny" lost in the Superbowl, it won't sting as badly if it's handed to us by Peyton and former LSU player Joseph Addai. Either way, it's gonna be a party in the MIA.