Saenger Theatre
Built in 1927, The Saenger has impressive ceiling decorations, a chandelier that came from a château near Versailles, and Italian baroque–style flourishes. It hosts a Broadway in New Orleans series as well as national headliners.
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For a relatively small city, New Orleans has a remarkably vibrant and varied performing-arts community. While there are many traditional performance venues around town, one of the most exciting movements in recent years is the fringe theater action along Saint Claude Avenue, in the Bywater neighborhood. The annual Fringe Theater Festival brings pop-up performances, but there are also some permanent venues as well.
Built in 1927, The Saenger has impressive ceiling decorations, a chandelier that came from a château near Versailles, and Italian baroque–style flourishes. It hosts a Broadway in New Orleans series as well as national headliners.
This well-established theater company specializes in original, first-rate contemporary theater productions. It stages premiers by regional and international playwrights and hosts a variety of community workshops and classes. Performances take place in a gorgeously renovated former church, with a full bar and plenty of gothic charm.
This theater produces three crowd-pleasing musicals every summer at Tulane's Dixon Hall. Tickets run from $5 to $35 and tend to sell out fast.
Best known for its summer bills of fare, the university has several arts and theater groups that stage top-notch musical and dramatic productions.
Summer Lyric Theatre. This theater produces three crowd-pleasing musicals every summer at Tulane's Dixon Hall. Tickets run $28 to $37, and tend to sell out fast. (504/865–5269; www.summerlyric.tulane.edu).
Summer Shakespeare Festival. Tulane's Summer Shakespeare Festival, at the university's Lupin Theater, interprets the Bard's work in a series of four imaginative, high-quality productions. (504/865–5106; www.neworleansshakespeare.com).
Working with volunteer staff and a shoestring budget, Zeitgeist founder and filmmaker Rene Broussard established this funky and eclectic space as a venue for experimental theater. It later developed into the city's center for alternative cinema, though it continues to stage live performances as well.