LOOPED is Now Playing at Westwego Cultural Center

Looped, a three-person play about Hollywood’s original diva Tallulah Bankhead, is now playing at Westwego Cultural Center. Performances run from November 9th through November 19th, 2023.

The play by Matthew Lombardo is based on a 1965 studio recording session in which an intoxicated Tallulah Bankhead required eight hours to dub a single line from her final movie Die! Die! My Darling! The 2008-2010 Broadway run of the play featured Valerie Harper as Tallulah. The local production features multiple Big Easy Award-winning Leslie Castay in the lead role.

Castay returned to her native New Orleans after a 20-plus-year career as a New York City-based actress. Locally she has garnered rave reviews with Le Petit (Grey Gardens, Merrily We Roll Along, Noises Off), Southern Rep (Next to Normal, Sweet Bird of Youth) Tulane Summer Lyric (Chicago, Company, Ragtime) and New Orleans Opera (Sweeney Todd). Leslie also works as a director, currently directing Young Frankenstein and recently the Big Easy award-winning Holiday Inn (2022) for JPAS. Film and TV credits include The Big Short, NCIS: New Orleans, Beautiful Creatures, Secrets of Sulphur Springs, Hulu Network’s Mike and as “Alicia Mayfair” on AMC’s Anne Rice’s Mayfair Witches.

Tallulah Bankhead appeared in over 30 Broadway productions throughout her career, including The Little Foxes (1939) and The Skin of Our Teeth (1942), both of which earned her the New York Drama Critics Circle Award.  In addition to her work on Broadway, Bankhead also appeared in several films, including Alfred Hitchock’s Lifeboat. She was known for her outrageous wit and husky voice, as well as for her drunken escapades, extravagant parties, bisexuality, and for making “dah-ling” a popular greeting.

“But,” according to JPAS show director Janet Shea, “there is so much more to discover about the great Tallullah. Only an intelligent, extremely gifted, seasoned, and versatile actress can successfully deliver her.  Valerie Harper did it in New York, and we are incredibly blessed to have the great Leslie Castay bring Tallulah to life on our stage.”

The three-person cast also includes Eric Lincoln as Danny, the film editor, and David Haydel as Steve, the sound engineer.  For more information on the cast, crew, show schedule and tickets, visit www.jpas.org. The performance takes place from Thursdays through Sundays November 9-19 at Westwego Cultural Center, 177 Sala Avenue, Westwego, LA.  For media interviews, photos, and other requests, email amy@jpas.org. To purchase tickets by phone contact the Jefferson Performing Arts Society box office at (504) 885-2000.

To post a comment, you must register and login.