Soprano on the go

Audra McDonald

Her movie producer friend knows she’s never been to Baton Rouge, yet he keeps seeing her throughout the city. And so does anyone else who passes one of the city’s many digital billboards. “Audra McDonald,” they blare. And then there’s her photograph, followed by the why, where and when — the why being the Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra’s Irene W. and C.B. Pennington Foundation Great Performers in Concert Series. Continue reading →

Culturally Speaking for May 12

The Foundation Gallery, 608 Julia St,, New Orleans, is presenting the work of Zhang Chongguang.

As part of an upcoming exhibit at the LSU Museum of Art focusing on the photography of famed jazz photographer Herman Leonard and works by LSU professor emeritus and painter Ed Pramuk, Louisiana Public Broadcasting will screen a half-hour documentary on the life and work of Leonard. The filmmakers will discuss the film afterward. Continue reading →

Louisiana Travels for May 12

Advocate file photo by HEATHER MCCLELLANDCub Scout members Landon Lavergne, left, and Randall Mitchell help place flags adjacent to Port Hudson National Cemetery's 12,000 headstones in honor of Memorial Day in 2012. The state historic site recently changed its operating hours.

The 5th annual Cruisin’ Cajun Country Cruise, featuring classic and muscle cars, will roll through Iberia Parish Thursday-Saturday, May 16-18. Participants can take in New Iberia’s Main Street historic district, food and live music, while spectators can enjoy free car shows and entertainment. Registration will open at 10 a.m. Thursday at the Super 8 Hotel … Continue reading →

‘Tiger Rag’ music ties Italian part of exhibit to LSU

Advocate staff photo by CATHERINE THRELKELDA coffee grinder from around 1880 is on display at the LSU Union Art Gallery's exhibit A Slice of Life in South Louisiana: 1890-1920.

One can’t help wondering if Nick LaRocca would have believed it if someone had told him exactly how much influence his song would have over a stadium of 90,000-plus. Make that more than 100,000 when the addition to Tiger Stadium is complete, when more voices are added to the crowd’s roar when the LSU Tiger Marching Band … Continue reading →

Poets share La. connection, mastery of language

It seems wrong to use a word like ordinary to describe any aspect of Jack Bedell’s poetry. His words are full of evocative metaphors that summon the smell of cane fields burning, the flash of a big redfish at the end of a fishing line, diamonds of light dappling a farm pond on a summer day. Continue reading →

Book Events for May 12-May 18

More than 20,000 students throughout the state voted to choose the winners of the 2013 Louisiana Young Readers’ Choice Award and Louisiana Teen Readers’ Choice Award. Young Zeus by G. Brian Karas was the top choice among third through fifth graders while Smile by Raina Telgemeier received the most votes among middle school students. The Louisiana Teen Readers’ Choice … Continue reading →

St. James continues Summer Sounds series

Tickets are on sale for the St. James Center for Spiritual Formation’s fourth annual Summer Sounds at St. James series of musical concerts. This year, programs are scheduled at 7 p.m. Wednesdays in July at St. James Episcopal Church, 205 N. Fourth St.. The series opens on July 3 with a performance by the National … Continue reading →

The Week in Arts for May 12

A compilation of arts events for the week ahead. SUNDAY IN THE PARK: noon-3 p.m., Galvez Plaza Stage, North Boulevard. Outdoor concert featuring Route 90. (225) 344-8558. MOVE OVER MRS. MARKHAM: 2 p.m., Theatre Baton Rouge, 7155 Florida Blvd. The final production in Theatre Baton Rouge’s 2012-13 Season of … Continue reading →

Witness to history

Photo by STEVE SCHAPIRO -- Photographer Steve Schapiro had gotten to know civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King through various assignments, including photographing the 1965 civil rights march in Selma, Ala.

There was no police tape, no officers blocking onlookers from the crime scene. It was a different time, a time before DNA tests and digital technology. A time when veteran Chicago photojournalist and author Steve Schapiro could show up with his film-loaded camera in hand and no one would question his presence. Martin Luther King’s associate Hosea Williams simply let him into room 306, where the television was still blaring and cold coffee was stagnant in plastic foam cups. Continue reading →

Culturally Speaking for May 5

The Front, 4100 St. Claude Ave., New Orleans, will feature sculpture, video, painting and mixed media by Vox Populi, the Philadelphia based artist collective, May 11-26..

Hot Art, Cool Nights, the Mid City Merchant’s spring art hop, is set for 6 p.m.-10 p.m. Friday, May 10, in the Mid City Art and Design District. This is the 10th year for the event, which features local artists and their work at many midcity locations. There also will be live music and refreshments along the way. Continue reading →

New Mexico: Native pueblos to Georgia O’Keeffe

Associated Press photo by Beth Harpaz -- This October 2012 photo shows the Santuario de Chimayo, a picture-perfect adobe church with wooden gates. This 200-year-old National Historic Landmark attracts 200,000 visitors a year, many of whom seek cures and miracles from a well of holy dirt called el pocito.

Striped balloons dot a bright blue sky. Red rocks silhouette a lone dead tree. A white ladder leans on a brown adobe dwelling. On a road trip around New Mexico, this mix of motifs and cultures seems to echo across the centuries and turn up at every stop, whether you’re visiting … Continue reading →

Travelers give Hawaii dogs second chance on mainland

Associated Press photo -- Martin Sprouse with 'Grady', an Airedale Terrier-Irish Wolfhound mix, April 18, in Oakland, Calif. After his owner brought the dog to the Kauai Humane Society because he was moving, the dog with the big brown eyes languished for four months, said shelter operations manager Brandy Varvel. But now Grady is living in a spacious California loft with a new owner who is admittedly smitten thanks to an arrangement the Kauai Humane Society has with the East Bay SPCA in Oakland.

The lanky, charcoal-gray dog with a distinctive, wiry hairdo would stand out in most other animal shelters, but no one gave him a second look on Hawaii’s island of Kauai. But thanks to a tourist willing to take him across the Pacific, an Airedale Terrier-Irish Wolfhound mix named Grady now enjoys a spacious California loft with … Continue reading →

Disney’s oldest cruise ship Magic getting a makeover

Associated Press photo -- This undated image provided by Disney Cruise Line shows a rendering of how the Disney Magic ship will look when a new three-story water slide is added to the ship's exterior. Disney Magic, launched in 1998, is the oldest in Disney Cruise Line's fleet of four ships. It will get a makeover this fall when it is drydocked for a month in Spain, with changes in decor, technology and themes throughout the ship, including a new kids' area themed on Marvel Comics superheroes.

Disney Cruise Line’s oldest ship, the Magic, is getting a makeover, including the addition of a children’s area themed on Marvel Comics superheroes and a three-story water slide, the company announced April 26. The Magic launched in 1998. Other updates when the ship goes into drydock in Spain for a month … Continue reading →

Mitchell draws his story for upcoming graphic novel

Advocate staff photo by HEATHER MCCLELLAND -- Antoine Mitchell hangs an exhibit of his conceptual art for his upcoming comic book, Sankofa's Eymbrace, at Jones Creek Regional Branch Library recently.

This is the story of the Sankofa child, whose Nia, or purpose, is to provide balance for the world of ImBalynce. Those who live in this world have heard the story, but many dismiss it as a myth. Stories of good and evil, a savior’s battle with a destructor, have been floating around since before The Shattering nearly 3,000 years ago. Continue reading →

Gura dusts off defining 19th-century novels

There is a lot we don’t know about our nation’s literary tradition and a lot of 19th-century writers who defined their age but are read no longer. Professor Philip Gura of the University of North Carolina breathes new life into old and largely forgotten novels. Continue reading →

Southern Rep season to offer 4 productions

Southern Repertory Theatre in New Orleans has announced its new Mainstage season full of passion, politics, spirit, sex and satire. Four productions will investigate the voices and histories of an eclectic cast of characters as they grapple with universal issues of love, truth, salvation and self. The Mainstage season will feature a Broadway play, an unforgettable … Continue reading →

Book Events for May 5-May11

Gregory Grandy, environmental manager, landscape architect and volunteer environmental educator, is passionate about Louisiana’s landscape, particularly preserving its coast. Grandy’s lifework is dedicated to preserving Louisiana’s coastline, a topic he will share at the Thursday, May 9, Foundation for Historical Louisiana’s monthly Heritage Lecture. The lecture will be held at 6 p.m. at FHL headquarters in the … Continue reading →

The Week in Arts for May 5-11

A compilation of arts events for the week ahead. SUNDAY IN THE PARK: noon-3 p.m., Galvez Plaza Stage, North Boulevard. Outdoor concert featuring Captain Green. (225) 344-8558. A PASTICHE OF GARDEN STYLES: 1 p.m.-5 p.m., LSU Hilltop Arboretum, 11855 Highland Road. Spring garden tour. $20. http://www.lsu.edu/hilltop or (225) 767-6916. FREE … Continue reading →

Cooney comedy opens doors for Theatre Baton Rouge

Photo provided by Theatre Baton RougeElizabeth Canfield, foreground, as Joanna Markham, listens as Carrie Moore as Linda Lodge arranges a rendezvous with Nicholas Moore as Walter Pangbourne during a rehearsal for Theatre Baton Rouge's Move Over Mrs. Markham.

Alistair is Philip, Philip is Philips the Butler, Linda is Sylvie, Walter is the father-in-law and Mrs. Markham is, well, Mrs. Markham. And Mrs. Markham is not only the one who creates this scenario to fool Olive Harriet Smythe, she’s also the one who keeps up with who’s who. Otherwise, Miss Smythe might take her … Continue reading →

Dual plots drive UpStage’s Jitney

Photo provided by Maddgame EntertainmentUpStage Theatre's production of August Wilson's Jitney will feature, from left, William Farris as Fielding, Faith Pate as Rena, Byron Wade as Booster and Cedric Clarke Jr. as Becker. The actor posed for a promotional photo.

Each character has a story, and those stories play out in Jitney, August Wilson’s gypsy cab station that serves Pittsburgh’s Hill District when others won’t. The district was Wilson’s boyhood home, the setting of the 10 plays in his Pittsburgh Cycle. Jitney is number eight in that series and second in UpStage Theatre’s plan to perform … Continue reading →

The beat goes on

Advocate staff photo by CATHERINE THRELKELD -- From left, Zach Bergeron, Sam Ard and Andres Aguilar of the Louisiana Youth Orchestra Percussion Ensemble run through one of the selections for the orchestra's next concert on Sunday, May 5.

Joe Moore wants people to know that his students can do more than bang on drums. The percussion doctoral candidate and director of the Louisiana Youth Orchestra’s Percussion Ensemble will showcase the range of the four member group at LYO’s upcoming concert Sunday, May 5. “I chose a melodic keyboard piece and then one with … Continue reading →

SU ensembles join for concert

Southern University photo by JOHN OUBRECharles Lloyd directs the Southern University Concert Choir in a performance during the 2012-13 season. The Concert Choir will perform with other music department ensembles on Friday, May 3, in the Potpourri: Sounds of Spring concert.

The Concert Choir will be there. The Wind Ensemble will, too. In fact, all of the Southern University Music Department’s concert ensembles will be performing on Friday, May 3, at Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church . Throw in a few solos by the department’s vocal and piano professors, and you have the music department’s Potpourri: The … Continue reading →

Bill Evans Jazz Festival opens April 29 at SLU

Bill Evans (PP)

Southeastern Louisiana University in Hammond will pay homage to jazz legend and alumnus Bill Evans with a festival in his honor. The 12th annual Bill Evans Jazz Festival honors the deceased seven-time Grammy Award winner and 1950 Southeastern graduate, considered the most influential jazz pianist of his generation. Sponsored by Southeastern’s Arts and Lectures … Continue reading →

LSU troupe plans ‘Singo de Mayo’ May 2

Tickets are on sale for “Singo de Mayo,” a musical revue, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 2, in the LSU Union Theater, Raphael Semmes Drive on campus. A play on words makes this grand finale performance by the LSU musical theatre troupe. This year, “Singo de Mayo’s” program will comprise a medley of Broadway tunes, classics … Continue reading →

The Week In Arts for April 28-May 4

A compilation of arts events for the week ahead. SUNDAY, APRIL 28 SUNDAY IN THE PARK: noon-2 p.m., Galvez Plaza Stage, North Boulevard. Performance by the Phunky Monkeys. Free. ASCENSION COMMUNITY THEATRE AUDITIONS: noon-4 p.m., Pasqua Theatre, 823 N. Felicity Ave., Gonzales. General auditions for Damn Yankees. There will be a cold reading at the … Continue reading →

Culturally Speaking for April 28

The Manship Student Advisory Board’s presentation of Singin’ in the Rain,” will start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, at the Manship Theatre in the Shaw Center for the Arts, 100 Lafayette St. The board is made up of two students each from several local high schools chosen by their own schools’ administrations, which have been targeted … Continue reading →

LSU Lab season presents Outworks 2013

LSU Theatre will present its annual Outworks Festival, an evening of six new, previously unproduced one-act plays with gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer themes at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, April 30-May 5, in the LSU Music & Dramatic Arts Studio Theatre, Dalrymple Drive on campus. There will be an additional performance at 2 p.m. Sunday, … Continue reading →

Sternberg sets off down the River Road once again

There must not be a pothole in River Road (U.S. 61) between New Orleans and Baton Rouge that Mary Ann Sternberg hasn’t tested. Her venerated Along the River Road, Past and Present on Louisiana’s Historic Byway is in its 3rd edition (also just out from LSU Press). The scenic River Road is dotted with antebellum plantations, quaint towns, quirky attractions and out-of-the-way eateries. Continue reading →

Salter’s All That Is a very big disappointment

James Salter’s first novel in more than 30 years is technically brilliant, filled with sharply etched characters and dialogue both natural and haunting — but soulless, those same characters repellently self-involved and emotionally bankrupt. Philip Bowman appears first as a junior naval officer at the battle of Okinawa repeating the mantra, “Do your duty fully and absolutely without unnecessary questions or excuses.” Continue reading →

Book Events for April 28-May 4

The Historic New Orleans Collection (THNOC) and the LHA have chosen Lawrence N. Powell’s The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans (Harvard University Press, 2012) winner of the 2012 Kemper and Leila Williams Prize in Louisiana History. The award was announced in Alexandria March 22 at the annual meeting of the Louisiana Historical Association. Powell is … Continue reading →

South Dakota museum adds Elvis’ guitar to vast collection

Associate Press photoGuitarist Robert Johnson, who played in the 1970s with Isaac Hayes and John Entwistle’s Ox, talks about the Chet Atkins and Johnny Cash guitars he donated to the National Music Museum in Vermillion, S.D. Johnson also donated a guitar played by Elvis Presley during his final tour and a harmonic played by Bob Dylan.

A 16th-century Amati violoncello displayed in the National Music Museum has long been nicknamed “The King,” but the ghost of a legendary rock ’n’ roller has arrived in South Dakota to reclaim his regal moniker. A slightly smashed acoustic guitar played by Elvis Presley on his final tour in 1977 now … Continue reading →

Louisiana Travels for April 28

Advocate file photoLSU cheerleaders ride Mike the Tiger's cage around Tiger Stadium on Nov. 3, 2012, before the LSU vs. Alabama game. Baton Rouge is a finalist for best SEC stadium in a AAA Southern Traveler survey.

Baton Rouge is a finalist in multiple categories in AAA Southern Traveler Magazine’s Best of the South survey. The magazine’s May/June issue includes the ballot for voting for the Best of the South. The Baton Rouge area is listed as a finalist under the following questions: 1. What is the best place for … Continue reading →

Famous Yellowstone elk likely killed by wolves

A Yellowstone National Park bull elk featured in a BBC film has died after likely being killed by a wolf pack. Park officials confirmed Tuesday that elk No. 10 was found dead near the Wraith Falls trailhead Saturday. He was believed to be between 16 and 18, a ripe old age for … Continue reading →

Dancing with art

Advocate staff photos by BILL FEIGFrom left, Muriel Capdepon, Marlon Grigsby and Amanda Arostegui dance during rehearsal for Of Moving Colors’ P.S. 425. The Commons Area at LSU, which is the glassed-in section behind the first-floor atrium in the Design Building, is the site of the rehearsal.

This could be a Pygmalion moment. Forget about the legendary myth of how the Cypriot goldsmith fell in love with his sculpture of a beautiful woman and concentrate on how the goddess Venus magically zapped life into her. Not many sculptors — if any — can say they’ve witnessed this in their own work. Continue reading →

BR Concert Band members take a walk on the wild side

Advocate staff photo by RICHARD ALAN HANNONBaton Rouge Concert Band members, from left, David Wallace, Ellen Bordelon, Richard Kilpatrick, Rick Barrios, Jim Kersh, Gaston Bordelon and Jim Young stand in front of the Spectacled Bear exhibit at BREC's Baton Rouge Zoo.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my. But the Baton Rouge Concert Band doesn’t stop there. Make a trip to BREC’s Independence Park Theatre on Sunday, April 21, and you’ll also find yourself mingling with wolves, turkeys, roosters, elephants and even an old sorehead. Musically speaking, of course. Continue reading →

Bayou Storm Rising tells stories of St. Mary

The Techeland Arts Council’s production of its No Hitchin’ folk history series installment, Bayou Storm Rising, opens Friday, April 26, and runs through Wednesday, May 1, at the Teche Theatre for the Performing Arts, 501 Main St., Franklin. The Sunday matinee begins at 2 p.m. All other performances start at 7 p.m. Bayou Storm Rising, … Continue reading →

Fundraiser will aid fire museum project

The Robert A. Bogan Fire Museum Board of Directors will host a Beer Tasting/Crawfish Boil fundraising event from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, April 27, at the Fire Museum in the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge building, 427 Laurel St. This is the second time for the event, which raises funds to restore and … Continue reading →