Up In Flames with The Burnin’

March 2015

Up In Flames with The Burnin’

On April 23, 1940, the Rhythm Club in Natchez, Mississippi burned to the ground. 209 people were killed and many more were injured. Almost all of the victims were Black, and many...

Rachel Lee

November 2014

Speaking Freely: The Graduates Share Stories of Life After Incarceration

You don’t need to look farther than the huge new jail being constructed over by Broad and Tulane to be reminded that Louisiana is the incarceration capital of the world....

Rachel Lee

May 2014

Upstage with the Play/Write Showcase

There’s only one place in New Orleans where you will find alligators conspiring to get out of their tank and pick up some Popeyes, a magical sock that grants wishes, and a very...

Rachel Lee

February 2014

Mangos With Chili: Fragrance Free and Full of Prayer

Cherry Galette felt a surge of excitement when the van pulled up at JFK Airport for the start of her first tour with performance troupe Mangos with Chili. “It was like: Oh my...

Rachel Lee

November 2013

Maids and Kings of the Mountaintop

The Mountaintop, a play exploring Martin Luther King, Jr.’s last night at the Lorraine Motel, has been on my radar since it debuted in London to rave reviews in 2009. Playwright...

Rachel Lee

October 2013

Rock the Oaks: AG Writers’ Picks for Voodoo 2013

Voodoo 2013 or Lollapalooza ‘95? Hard to tell with this year’s lineup, which is topped by icons of the last millenium like Pearl Jam and the Cure. But hey, those were...

Dan Fox, Erin Hall, Kate Russell, Leigh Checkman, M. Bevis, Rachel Lee, Sara Pic

October 2013

Yours In Struggle: The Free Southern Theatre’s 50th Anniversary

Although the Free Southern Theater operated in New Orleans from 1965 to 1980 and was a national leader in the Black Arts Movement, pioneering new aesthetic forms that influenced...

Rachel Lee

October 2013

Cry You One Lets the Land Speak

Botanical epidemiologist Carol Carl delivered an urgent message at this year’s Earth Day festivities on Bayou St. John. Dressed in all white, she nervously explained to a...

Rachel Lee

September 2013

Justice is Social: ROOTS Week in Review

ROOTS Week, an annual gathering of artists from around the South, is always full of surprises. At dinner one evening, the clamor of conversation in the cafeteria was suddenly...

Rachel Lee

July 2013

Sowing Seeds with Sound Off

One sweaty evening in July members of the New Orleans theater community gather to perform, share feedback and eat watermelon together. Hosted by the ensemble theater company NEW...

Rachel Lee