The Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts is a theater located in

Louis Armstrong Park Louis Armstrong Park is a park located in the Tremé neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana, just across Rampart Street from the French Quarter. In the 1960s a controversial urban renewal project leveled a substantial portion of the Tremé neig ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. It was named after

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

singer

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to ...

, who was born in New Orleans. The theater reopened in January 2009, after being closed since the landfall of Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2005). It serves as the long-term residence of the

New Orleans Ballet Association New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz Albums and EPs * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartn ...

, the New Orleans Opera Association, and the

Broadway Across America Broadway Across America (BAA) is a presenter and producer of live theatrical events in the United States and Canada since 1982. It is currently owned by the John Gore Organization (formerly Key Brand Entertainment), which purchased it from Live ...

touring productions.

History

The 2,100-seat Mahalia Jackson Theater first opened in January 1973, with a performance of Giuseppe Verdi's ''

Messa da Requiem The ''Messa da Requiem'' is a musical setting of the Catholic funeral mass ( Requiem) for four soloists, double choir and orchestra by Giuseppe Verdi. It was composed in memory of Alessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi admired. The first performance, at ...

'', starring New Orleans native

Norman Treigle Norman Treigle (né Adanelle Wilfred Treigle (March 6, 1927February 16, 1975) was an American operatic bass-baritone, who was acclaimed for his great abilities as a singing-actor, and specialized in roles that evoked villainy and terror. Biograp ...

and the New Orleans Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, conducted by

Werner Torkanowsky Werner Torkanowsky (born on 30 March 1926; died on 20 October 1992) was a successful German Conductor (music), conductor in both the concert hall and opera house. He was born in Berlin, Germany, and raised on a kibbutz in Israel, coming to the Uni ...

. Before Hurricane Katrina, it was the home of the New Orleans Opera Association and the

and held occasional performances by the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and other groups. It was also the home of the

Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is an American orchestra based in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only full-time, professional orchestra in the Gulf South. The orchestra performs at the Orpheum Theater. The Louisiana Philharmonic O ...

for about ten years, before the orchestra moved to the Orpheum Theater. Diana Ross played a three-night, sold-out engagement at the theater in 1996. It was deemed one of the most successful pop concerts at the venue.

Return

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, the Mahalia Jackson Theater was severely damaged. The theater sustained 14 ft. of water, which damaged the motor control center, orchestra lifts, heating and air-conditioning controls, sewerage ejector pumps and other structural components. Following Katrina, repairs and upgrades were made including the addition of enhanced lighting and a new sound system, orchestra shell, ballet floor, and digital cinema screen. The cost of the theater renovation was around US$27 million, and was financed by local tax dollars, about $8.5 million from the

Federal Emergency Management Agency The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Ex ...

, and a $500,000 grant from the

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation of New York City in the United States, simply known as Mellon Foundation, is a private foundation with five core areas of interest, and endowed with wealth accumulated by Andrew Mellon of the Mellon family of Pitts ...

. About a week of events from January 8 through January 17, 2009, celebrated the reopening of the theater, including a free performance by

Kermit Ruffins Kermit Ruffins (born December 19, 1964) is an American jazz trumpeter, singer, composer, and actor from New Orleans. He has been influenced by Louis Armstrong and Louis Jordan and says that the highest note he can hit on trumpet is a high C. He ...

Irma Thomas Irma Thomas ( Lee; born February 18, 1941) is an American singer from New Orleans. She is known as the "Soul Queen of New Orleans". Thomas is a contemporary of Aretha Franklin and Etta James, but never experienced their level of commercial succ ...

, and Marva Wright as well as paid performances by Allen Toussaint,

Yolanda Adams Yolanda Yvette Adams (born August 27, 1961) is an American gospel singer, actress, and host of her own nationally syndicated morning gospel show. She is one of the best-selling gospel artists of all time, having sold over 10 million albums ...

, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra with Itzhak Perlman, New Orleans Ballet Association with members of the

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

s, and the New Orleans Opera Association with

Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...

. Mahalia Jackson Theater was the first of the major theaters in New Orleans to reopen after Hurricane Katrina. City officials hoped the theater would help draw tourists to the city. In 2013 the theater hosted the

2012 NFL Honors The 2nd annual NFL Honors was an awards show presented by the National Football League to salute the best players and plays from the 2012 NFL season. The event was held at the Mahalia Jackson Theater in New Orleans, Louisiana on February 2, 201 ...

, honoring the best

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

players and performances.

Broadway in New Orleans (2009–present)

On June 25, 2009,

and Mayor

Ray Nagin Clarence Raymond Joseph Nagin Jr. (born June 11, 1956) is an American former politician who was the 60th Mayor of New Orleans, Louisiana, from 2002 to 2010. A Democrat, Nagin became internationally known in 2005 in the aftermath of Hurricane K ...

announced that touring shows would return to the theater for the 2009–10 season. Shows featured were '' Cats'', ''

The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.

'', '' Mamma Mia!'', ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * '' Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' s ...

'', and '' Avenue Q''. Broadway shows toured here while the Saenger Theatre, State Palace Theatre, and the Orpheum Theater were undergoing major renovations due to Hurricane Katrina. On March 16, the 2010-11

season was announced. Shows included were: ''Cirque Dreams Illumination'', ''RAIN'', ''

Spamalot ''Spamalot'' (also known as ''Monty Python's Spamalot'') is a musical comedy with music by John Du Prez and Eric Idle, and lyrics and book by Idle. It is adapted from the 1975 film ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Like the motion pictu ...

'', ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet'', the story is set in the mid ...

'', and ''

Shrek ''Shrek'' is a 2001 American computer-animated comedy film loosely based on the 1990 book of the same name by William Steig. It is the first installment in the ''Shrek'' franchise. The film was directed by Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jen ...

''. ''

The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.

'' also returned to the theater as a special, due to popular demand. On May 4, 2010 ''Storytime Live!'' was added to the 2009-2010 season, with dates set for July 23–25. The national tour of ''

The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over ...

'' in September 2011 was the first Broadway musical to take advantage of the incentive programs offered by

Louisiana Entertainment Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is border ...

, the state's comprehensive entertainment industry development office.Jones, Kennet
"'Addams Family' Will Hit the Road in 2011; Tour Will Launch in New Orleans"
playbill.com, April 30, 2010 The 2011–2012 season was announced on March 14, 2011. ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance ...

'', which was originally set to have its

debut at the Saenger Theatre in spring 2012, played instead at the Mahalia Jackson Theater.

References

External links

Official website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahalia Jackson Theater of the Performing Arts Concert halls in Louisiana Opera houses in Louisiana Performing arts centers in Louisiana Theatres in New Orleans Music venues in Louisiana

History

Return

Broadway in New Orleans (2009–present)

See also

References

External links