Summer Stages: BWW's Top Summer Theatre Picks - New Orleans!

Theatre in New Orleans this summer offers selections that cater to the Shakespeare lover as well as musicals that the whole family can enjoy. Here are the top 5 picks:

HAMLET will be playing at Dixon Performing Arts Center in June. This performance is part of the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival, which is hosted at Tulane University every summer (http://neworleansshakespeare.tulane.edu/blog/)

ROSENCRANTZ AND GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD will also be playing at Dixon Performing Arts Center for the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival in June. This play is akin to Disney’s Lion King 1 ½ or Jon Scieszka’s The True Story of the Three Little Pigs. It follows the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as the events from Hamlet unfold, giving the audience a different perspective on a familiar story (http://neworleansshakespeare.tulane.edu/blog/).

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS at Playmakers in Covington, Louisiana will take place in mid-July. This dark comedy musical tells the story of a florist who raises a man-eating plant while trying to romance the lovely Audrey. This show is appropriate for children aged 10+ (http://playmakersinc.com/).

SEUSSICAL will also take place in July, but will appear at St. John Theatre in Reserve, Louisiana. Families who enjoy reading the works of the wonderful Dr. Seuss will be thrilled to watch characters such as the Grinch, Horton, the Cat in the Hat, and Thing One and Thing Two come alive (http://www.stjohntheatre.org/).

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF is the last show of the 2012 Summer Lyric Theatre season hosted at Tulane University. Summer Lyric Theatre performances feature paid and volunteer actors and actresses in a variety of classic musicals (http://summerlyric.tulane.edu/index.cfm).

Whether you frequent the theatre or whether you are just looking to escape the southern heat for a couple of hours, check out any of these five shows and support local performing arts.