NOLA Project plans ‘Tempest,’ while Rivertown plays ‘Sister Act’

A tempest on the greenway and a nun on the run? Local stages are offering a variety of shows in the coming days.

The bard with a twist

The NOLA Project takes to the outdoors for its next show. “Shakespeare’s ‘Tempest’ Reimagined” is an updated version of James Bartelle’s adaptation, first staged by the local company in 2006 following the devastation of Katrina.

A founding member of the local acting ensemble, Bartelle notes the show is “50% Shakespeare’s words and 50% new,” somewhat closer to the Bard’s original work than the post-Katrina production, filled with shipwrecks, magic, mischief and more.

In partnership with the Friends of Lafitte Greenway, the al fresco theatrical production will be staged at 436 N. Norman C. Francis Parkway with patrons providing their own seating for the venue.

Bartelle helms the production with Khiry Armstead, Keith Claverie, Leslie Claverie, Pamela D. Roberts, Ashley Ricord Santos, Megan Whittle and Kristin Witt as well as Monica R. Harris, Jessica Lozano, Alexandria Miles and Zarah Hokule’a Spalding.

Tickets start at $10 and the show runs Wednesday and selected days through May 25. Visit nolaproject.com.

‘Nun’ of that

What happens when a mobster’s girlfriend needs to disappear for a while? If you’re a cop, you hide her where no crook would think to look.

“Get thee to a nunnery.” Well, different show but the idea is sort of a habit with “Sister Act,” which opens Friday at Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts.

Based on the Whoopi Goldberg/Maggie Smith 1992 movie, this stage version gets the Broadway treatment with song-and-dance numbers and more.

Directed by Gary Rucker, the show features Jennifer Bullock as Deloris Van Cartier and Chrissy Bowen as Mother Superior, with Ricky Graham as Monsignor O’Hara and Tyler Price as Eddie Souther. Other cast includes Mary Clare Eastland, Jordan Lawrence, Laurie Reinegal, Jane D’Antonio, Savannah Chiasson, Kirkland Green, Colin Richard, Brian Rosenthal, Johnny Missakian, Jo Jo Mathieu, Amber Lemelle and Brandon Bui. Also appearing are Catherine Caldas, Stephanie Francis, Kelli Hebert, Kelly Amstutz, Deb Lyons, Lauren Smith, Christina Cross, Tricia Kutz, Sherri Montz, Sarah Hille, Ella Grace Francis, Beau Moss, Michael Civitano, Danny Rubio, Rusty Fox and David Griswold.

Tickets start at $39. The show runs at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Sundays through May 19, plus May 16. The theater is at 325 Minor St. in Kenner. Visit rivertowntheaters.com.

Lyric-al cabaret

As the song says, “Life is a cabaret old chum, come to the cabaret,” especially if it features a good cause with some good music.

Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane University is using GiveNOLA Day as a chance to promote the upcoming season while also offering a performance by a stage vet with more than half of a century of experience with the local theatrical endeavor.

Marc Embree, who began with Summer Lyric in “Brigadoon” and has appeared in “Oklahoma,” “Carousel” and more than 25 other shows, will bring his expertise as an associate professor of voice at Michigan State University for a one-night-only show at 7 p.m. at Dixon Annex Recital Hall on Newcomb Circle at the Uptown campus. A reception starts at 6 p.m.

The cabaret on the philanthropic day is free and will highlight the upcoming season of the seasonal playhouse.

On tap for the stage are Stephen Sondheim’s marvelously macabre “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” planned June 20-23, directed by Ray Proctor; the buoyant Cole Porter seafaring “Anything Goes,” slated July 11-14, directed by Ken Goode; and the magic-to-do Stephen Schwartz Tony-winner “Pippin,” helmed by Diane Lala, scheduled Aug. 1-4.

Visit summerlyric.tulane.edu.

‘Let’s do it again’

Musicals, murder and midsummer magic are all in store for the 2024-25 season at Mandeville’s 30 by Ninety Theatre.

Seven productions plus a special holiday show will kick off for the St. Tammany acting company in August and run through June, 2025.

The season will start with the musical comedy “The 25th Annul Putnam County Spelling Bee” Aug. 10-25. The show looks at a middle-school competitive spelling competition and all the angst and joy that goes into the event.

The wives of Henry V get a chance to tell their story in their own words in “SIX,” the London and New York smash, now in a teen edition, for Sept. 13-22.

Dame Agatha Christie’s “Murder On the Orient Express” makes a stop at the theater Oct. 12-27. The stage version of the classic mystery focuses on a train-full of possible killers and, of course, a dead body.

“A Very Merry Christmas Spectacular” hits the stage Dec. 6-15 for the sixth year, spreading loads of holiday cheer.

Shakespeare makes an appearance Jan. 18-Feb. 2, 2025, when Puck, Titania and company enjoy “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” with fairies, mistaken identities and the power of love (and mischief).

“The Play That Goes Wrong” is the March 15-30 production, a hilarious romp about a doomed show within a show.

What would happen if Judas was put on trial, with witnesses like Sigmund Freud, Mother Theresa and Satan? That’s the premise of “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” slated for April 26-May 11.

A musical farce, “Lucky Stiff,” features gambling, Atlantic City, Monte Carlo, murder and a Greek chorus-style ensemble that moves the story along. The show is planned June 14-29.

For information on the theater at 880 Lafayette St., Mandeville, visit 30byninety.com.

Opening this week May 2-8

In production

“BORN WITH TEETH”: 7:30 p.m. Thursdays to Saturdays, 3 p.m. Sundays through May 12; Le Petit Théâtre du Vieux Carré, 616 St. Peter St. A collaboration between the two is the comedic circumstance behind Liz Duffy Adams’ story about Marlowe and Shakespeare working in the back room of a pub to write a history play cycle. Tickets start at $15 for students, $35 for adults; lepetittheatre.com.

“THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST: A TRIVIAL COMEDY FOR SERIOUS PEOPLE”: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2:30 p.m. Sunday; 30 by Ninety Theatre, 880 Lafayette St., Mandeville. Oscar Wilde’s look at Victorian attitudes about romance and marriage, a farcical satire centering on Jack Worthing and his friend Algernon Moncrieff, both of whom assume different identities from their country abodes to their lives in the city. Tickets start at $17. 30byninety.com.