Rising again to celebrate the season of All Hallows, there’s a blood-sucking ballet, a twist on Edgar Allan Poe’s homage to the ruby-colored amontillado and a “sweet transvestite” with a penchant for tinkering around the laboratory.
Fangs en pointe
Does Vlad the Impaler really dance?
In the New Orleans Ballet Theatre’s production of “Dracula,” he does indeed.
Back by popular demand after its 2024 debut, the Oliver Halkowich-choreographed story based on Bram Stoker’s novel will jeté onto stage at the Orpheum Theater for four performances starting Friday.
The company of ‘Dracula’ for New Orleans Ballet Theatre.
PROVIDED PHOTO/James Shaw Photography
Piercing into the vein of the classic story, the ballet is told from Jonathan Harker’s point of view as he struggles with Dracula and his own inner turmoil.
Principal dancer Josh Reynolds returns in his role as the count plus a cast of more than two dozen full-time and trainee artists.
The ballet is considered appropriate for most ages and costumes are encouraged.
The show is at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Oct. 30 and at 2 p.m. Saturday at the 129 Roosevelt Way auditorium. Tickets start at $51. Visit nobt.org.
When Robbie goes rogue
Revolt and revenge are the themes of a pair of radio-style productions planned by the Delgado Community College Theatre Program, tapping into historical stories for a modern-day fright.
“R.U.R. — Rossum’s Universal Robots” was penned in 1921 by Karel Capek but takes (took) place in 2000. Mass-produced artificial humans are hailed as helpmates for people, but they eventually revolt and lead to the near-extinction of humans (duh).
Foley artists, those who provide the many sound effects in the radio-style programs of the past, in Delgado Community College Theatre’s radio-style production of ‘R.U.R. — Rossum’s Universal Robots’ are Dawn Chelette, Gabrielle Delatte, Ronald Luebbe and Sophie Condon.
PROVIDED PHOTO
And for a story about revenge, the theatrical company offers Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” about a man who is buried alive because of some slight to the other character.
Kris LaMorte directs both programs, with Marcus Mateo, Zoe Labit, Dawn Chelette, Gabrielle Delatte, Ronald Luebbe, Sophie Condon, Meghan McDermott as Nana and Mason Joiner.
The shows will run at 7:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday at the Timothy K. Baker Theatre in Building 1, 615 City Park Ave. Tickets are $12. Visit dcc.edu.
The ‘Phantoms’ of Cutting Edge Center for the Arts’ production of ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ welcome guests to the theater 2025 production, ‘Insane Asylum.’
ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED
‘Over at the Frankenstein place’
Cutting Edge Center for the Arts in Slidell wants to alleviate the anticipation of seeing “The Rocky Horror Show” with its 2025 iteration of the campy cult classic.
Sean Griffin and Megan Augustine appear as Brad and Janet in ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ at Cutting Edge Center for the Arts in Slidell.
ILLUSTRATION PROVIDED
The 1973 musical, by Richard O’Brien (butler Riff Raff in the original stage show and movie) in an homage to low-budget science-fiction movies, features a hapless couple (Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick) who stumble onto a castle with an alien mad scientist (Tim Curry) creating a muscle man and celebrating a gathering of “transexuals from Transylvania,” their home planet.
But Cutting Edge has morphed and crafted the show with unique twists each year, with this year’s version being “Insane Asylum.” There, Riff Raff is the head nurse and Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a surgeon.
Taking roles in the show are Chris Grimwood, Ashley O’Neil, Sean Griffin, Megan Augustine, Earl Poole, Angie Jackson, Adam Rohr, Chloe Hansen, Jeffery Mashlan, Michael Tanner, Jessica Guastella, Tricia Kutz and Elizabeth Wheat.
The show is at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday plus Halloween at 767 Robert Blvd. in Slidell. Tickets start at $35. Visit cuttingedgetheater.com.
On stage this week, Oct. 23-29
Meredith Long-Dieth as Rose in ‘Gypsy’
PROVIDED PHOTO/Lauren Smith
“GYPSY”: Opening 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, plus Nov. 7, and at 2 p.m. Sundays through Nov. 9; Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts, 325 Minor St., Kenner. Packed with powerhouse musical numbers and a huge dose of show business, gargantuan tale of the ultimate stage mother based on the memories of famous entertainer Gypsy Rose Lee and the “center of the universe” character of her mother, Rose, a women who bulldozes her daughters into show business “’cause I was born too soon and started too late.” Tickets start at $43. rivertowntheaters.com.
“THE MISS FIRECRACKER CONTEST” 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday; 30 By Ninety Theatre, 880 Lafayette St., Mandeville. The story focuses on Carnelle, her reputation in shreds, as she attempts the ultimate fixer for all-things-woe in the South — win a pageant. With her family having issues of their own and nothing turning out as it should, their futures come into focus and things don’t seem quite so bad. Tickets start at $20. 30byninety.com.