Broadway theater coming back to New Orleans?

Broadway theater coming back to New Orleans?
June 20, 2009,
by The Times-Picayune

Check the Web site for Broadway Across America and you'll find that New Orleans' Mahalia Jackson Theatre for the Performing Arts is listed among the cities where the touring company plans to stop.

What you won't find is a listing of which plays will come to the Crescent City or when they may be arriving.

Those details are set to be released on Thursday, June 25, when Broadway Across America joins with Mayor C. Ray Nagin and others to hold a press conference to announce plans. (Watch this Web site for details.)

New Orleans has not welcomed Broadway-style touring shows since before Hurricane Katrina flooded the still-shuttered Saenger Theatre.

Broadway Across America is known for bringing popular and Tony Award-winning favorites such as "Wicked," "Chicago" and "Dreamgirls" to cities throughout the country.

The press conference is being held in the 2,100-seat Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts, which reopened in January after undergoing extensive renovations following Hurricane Katrina. The storm's floods also closed the Orpheum theater.

The theater, which is managed by Arts Center Enterprises - New Orleans, L.L.C., has also drawn national comedy acts to its stage, such as Jim Gaffigan and Mo'Nique, with Bill Maher set to arrive on July 9.