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Delacroix will officially open at the end of September in Spanish Plaza. Inspired by the food, culture and people of the historic fishing and hunting village sharing its name in St. Bernard Parish, the restaurant offers a refined setting where diners are transported to the rustic cooking of South Louisiana. Ahead of the highly anticipated debut, guests can experience “Catch of the Week,” a rotating showcase of signature dishes from its forthcoming menu, at one of Delacroix’s sister restaurants. Diners can taste a new “catch” each week as a limited-time special at Luke, Domenica, Willa Jean and Restaurant August starting August 25.
Football season is here, and Virgin Hotels New Orleans - within walking distance of the Superdome - welcomes the season with on-property programming at Commons Club and The Pool Club. Locals and visitors are invited to enjoy food, football-themed cocktails, and entertainment.
In celebration of the home games, indulge in a spirited Brass Brunch, with live entertainment by Jeremy Phipps and his band. In addition to the regular a la carte menu, Executive Chef Chris Borges has dreamt up a variety of Game Day specials, including:
During every Sunday home game, Commons Club will also feature DJ entertainment. For further game-day information, please visit https://virginhotels.com/new-orleans/new-orleans-saints/. Now in its eighth year, Rough Draughts – The NOLA Project theatre company’s free playreading series – returns to The Broadside on Wednesday, August 27 at 7pm.
Season 21 productions start in October, but The NOLA Project will open its proverbial doors this month with a never-before-heard script by Thomas Mullen and Maria Messias Mendes. “ONE NIGHT AT THE BLACKBIRD was inspired after NOLA Project’s Burns Night in January,” said Mullen. “That’s when I learned that Jacob Schoen and Son Funeral Home was offering their facilities to make better use of their chapels, which are of course, stages. And so I conceived of a clandestine nightclub within the walls of the funeral home, featuring deceased legends of the New Orleans music scene.” The reading will feature The NOLA Project ensemble members James Bartelle and Matthew Thompson as well as local actors KC, Aria Jackson, Jessica Mixon and Ja’Quan Monroe-Henderson. Since 2017, The NOLA Project’s mission with Rough Draughts has been to help aspiring actors and playwrights become more involved with the New Orleans theatre community while exposing its already adventurous audience to new and unique plays that entertain and engage. For more information on Rough Draughts, including submission instructions, visit NOLAProject.com.  Highest 2 Lowest
Review by Jeff DeRouen Like 2006’s Inside Man, Spike Lee’s new joint, Highest 2 Lowest, starts out as an action movie but ends its story as a fully formed allegory about morality and what we owe to each other on this planet. Lee is an expert in taking a high-concept thriller (which he executes brilliantly) and then, at the end of the movie, he drops us into his own moral universe where the auteur is not afraid to tell us, in no uncertain terms, what he believes and where he thinks the world should go. Lee’s frequent collaborator, Denzel Washington (who was robbed of an Oscar for Malcolm X), plays music mogul David King, a fading talent trying to get back on top, even though it may be time to pass the baton, sit back, and enjoy his money. David wants to interrupt the pending sale of his label, so he makes a risky move to get his company back, forcing him to leverage all his family’s finances. We see David slowly building the stakes of the movie (the deals, the promises, the risks) and Washington plays him cool like cucumber and mayonnaise noodle salad despite the enormous weight on his shoulders. David’s best laid plans are shot to hell, of course, when a loved one is kidnapped and held for ransom, putting his family and everything he's worked for in jeopardy. I don’t want to spoil any of the plot details except to say that the movie moves at a clip and shows off some of Spike Lee’s best work. There is a “money drop” sequence set to the music of Eddie Palmieri that is absolutely thrilling and worth the price of admission alone. There is also no question at this point: Spike Lee is THE New York City filmmaker. He adores the place and shoots the hell out of it; the Big Apple hasn’t looked this gorgeous on screen in a very long time. The cinematography alone is a VERY good reason (here we go) to get up, put on PANTS, and go OUT to the movies to see this limited run in the biggest way you can before the movie moves to AppleTV. The Prytania Uptown is, for my money, the best screen in New Orleans (beautiful 4K laser projection and Dolby Atmos sound) and starting this weekend, they’ll be playing Highest 2 Lowest alongside the film it’s based on, Akira Kurosawa’s classic High and Low. It’s an amazing opportunity to see two masters of cinema at the top of their game working with their muses, Denzel Washington and Toshiro Mifune. Is Highest 2 Lowest one of Spike’s masterpieces like Malcolm X or Do the Right Thing? Well, that’s for you to decide. In the end, the movie’s message may be a little too on the nose and perhaps heavy-handed to be held alongside those sophisticated works, but it’s authentic, very entertaining, and full of terrific performances (Geoffrey Wright has that supporting Oscar in his crosshairs, friends). I like that Spike still has something to say and knows how to say it loudly and with pride and, you know what? He ain’t wrong. For showtimes at the Prytania Theatre, click here  By Dorian Hatchett
Photography is the art of preserving a moment in time, and in doing so, giving that moment an entire narrative writ timeless in the unique voice of the artist. Nothing is so beneficial to art as a diverse range of perspectives. To this end, New Orleans Photo Alliance, with approximately 300 members, provides a space for that diversity to coalesce in an entirely new range of artistic opportunity. Comprised of photographers of all levels of skill and experience from passionate hobbyists to award winning photojournalists, New Orleans Photo Alliance (NOPA) seeks to foster a sense of community in this most science-driven art form. Member benefits include not only frequent gallery shows, but access to low-cost darkroom space and year-round educational events and workshops. The principle of the Pushpin Show is a simple one. Instead of a formal affair, with framed or mounted photographs revealed at an opening ceremony as a curated collection, this show starts at zero, and organically grows across the span of the event. All NOPA members are invited to participate. Just bring a piece of work to contribute, place it where you like, and watch as the unspoken communication turns the exhibit into a shifting visual landscape. Members are allowed to hang their work during gallery hours on August 21 (11am-4pm), but also during the opening reception that evening (from 5-7pm) and then for the entire length of the show (through September 25th), with the only stipulation that once hanged, a piece must remain on display thought the entire show. The result is a show that is fluid and shifting. As new pieces join the chorus of photographic voice, the song changes, morphing across tone and theme to a spectacular crescendo of ideas. The Pushpin Show is at 7800 Oak St. August 21st-September 25th. The New Orleans Photo Alliance (and membership information) can be found at neworleansphotoalliance.org  Harold and Saint Claude
Review by Dorian Hatchett In theatre, we seek truth. The universal human experience, writ large in lights and choreography. Those of us who spend a lot of time in dark auditoriums, though, we know a secret. The secret is pain. That great equalizer that pulls every successful script together, that unites every frenzied backstage quick-change, or last second lightboard fix is pain. The shoes that don’t quite fit and the rehearsals late into the night on twisted ankles and costumes that pinch. Play through the pain. And if you do it just right, and all those elements coalesce, it’s magic. You get to make the audience feel that pain, too. If the universal human experience is pain, then the exceptional human experience is joy. Across thousands of years of human history, we repeat ourselves, with the same casual cruelties and tragedies big and small. Again and again, the man made horrors persist. We can draw parallels, and translate across cultures, and the pain is all so poignant, and true. But in the periphery of pain lies joy, and the people who are exceptional, who perpetuate it, despite knowing far too much about the flip side of their shiny coins. Harold and Maude, a movie that premiered in 1971, to a loathsome critical response, is a dark comedy about death, and the life that people may choose in spite of it. It rose to cult status several years after its initial debut, where it remains to this day. An exaggerated may-december romance, Harold Chaisson is a very young man who is obsessed with death. Maude is an old woman who has seen death, and has chosen instead to live in every sincere sense of the word. At its root, it’s the story of generation separation from tragedy. Maude is a Holocaust survivor, and Harold is too young to understand what that means. The film coalesces with Maude choosing to embrace death on her own terms, and Harold, horrified, finally understands her lessons completely. In Harold and Saint Claude, we move the settings forward two decades, and to New Orleans, where young, sheltered Harold is still death obsessed, but is struggling with his sexuality in addition to his desire to feel anything at all in a life dominated by his overbearing mother. Doing perfect justice to the original material, director and adaptor Thugsy DaClown honors the struggles of youth and attachment, while shaping the motivations of the characters to a slightly more modern struggle. Saint Claude is an aging drag queen who has seen the worst parts of the rise of the AIDS epidemic, has not remained untouched herself by the virus, and has chosen to live, despite the ticking clock she feels over her own life. Like many people affected by the virus in the time before effective treatment, dying by choice is preferable to wasting away alone at the end, and she must teach Harold how to live before her life ends, on her 66th birthday. Bizzy Barefoot, in the role of Saint Claude, is stunning. She conveys the joy and heartache of aging, the fear and elation of being alive in every moment, in a way that had the audience hanging on her every word and grand gesture. Rose Falvey as Harold is earnest; the folly of youth personified, and the agony of watching them learn these hardest lesson is palpable and uncomfortable. The entire supporting cast is superb, a comic relief beacon in the darkness. As the play reaches its climax, there’s not a dry eye in the house. They were reciting a script, but the audience found the truth inside of themselves, and it spilled out in laughter and tears. It would be a grave error not to comment on the presentation style. The director created an immersive experience, with a live band covering and adapting popular music and an accompanying film reel to add depth and scenery to an already vibrant set. At the end, filing out full of smiles, it can be safely assumed that the audience felt another altogether different universal human experience: wanting more. Harold & St Claude plays at The AllWays Lounge on August 25th & 26th. Click here for ticketing and more information.  Weapons
Review by Jeff DeRouen Zach Cregger’s new movie, Weapons, is a delightfully disturbing and wicked little tale of a small town thrown into turmoil when a classroom of small children vanishes. Each kid inexplicably, and at the same time, got out of their beds while everyone slept, walked out of their homes, and then ran until they disappeared into the night. The mystery and how it affects the people of the small town is broken into chapters to give us six separate points of view of the events that unfold. The always exceptional Julia Garner plays the maligned teacher of the kids who’ve disappeared and is now under suspicion by everyone in town. She joins forces with the father of one of the missing kids (a powerful and moving performance by James Brolin) to solve the mystery and, as each chapter goes by, we go further and further into the darkness until it all comes full circle in a shockingly hilarious (in a horror movie?!) and totally satisfying ending. Plenty of the terminally online will fight with each other over the term “elevated horror” because, I guess, some people need to create a whole new genre to single out the best product. Some folks have not and will not ever give horror its due as a genre with bold ideas and artistic legitimacy. The genre, though, should be irrelevant in our expectations of a well-made film that holds our attention because of how it tells the story and doesn’t glide by with cheap and cliché elements. That’s not to say there aren’t jump scares here (there are and they WORK) but they are not cheap. The scares add to what are already exquisitely orchestrated scenes that maximize the edge Cregger knows he’s brought us to. Is there a deeper meaning to Weapons? Maybe! I don’t want to build it up so much that it doesn’t meet the hype, but it’s a great story whose first goal is entertainment and Cregger has a deep respect for the audience and what we THINK we want. It’s thrilling, funny, creepy, and gives Amy Madigan (whose character I wouldn’t dream of spoiling here) a platform to return to the big screen and deliver an insanely brilliant performance that should absolutely be given awards consideration. Weapons is EXACTLY the kind of movie I want to see: an original story told with expertly crafted filmmaking and terrific performances. I love where the horror genre is today and I look forward to going where visionaries like Zach Cregger want to take us because, honestly, it was really fun to scream out loud in a movie theater again.  Due to record-breaking demand, the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company's excellent production of 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' is extending one final time, and is now playing at the Marquette Theatre at Loyola University through August 10th, when it must finish.
Read our review of this amazing production - click here! A calendar of August's programs and events at NOMA:
Wednesday, August 6, 12:30 and 6:00 pm | Gallery Talks with Artist Elenora “Rukiya” Brown Local artist, designer, and Black Masking Indian Elenora “Rukiya” Brown discusses her work at the museum and connections to the exhibition New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations. https://noma.org/event/gallery-talk-new-african-masquerades-artistic-innovations-and-collaborations-2/2025-08-06/ Friday, August 8, 6–9 pm | NOMA at Night Explore the museum after hours during NOMA at Night, celebrating the closing of the exhibition New African Masquerades: Artistic Innovations and Collaborations. Visitors can explore the galleries, enjoy live music from Bamboula 2000, DJ sets from artist Jer’Lisa Devezin, curator-led gallery talks, exhibition-inspired food and drink from Café NOMA, and more. Tickets are $15 for NOMA members; $30 full price; free for ages 19 and under. https://noma.org/event/noma-at-night-new-african-masquerades-closing-celebration/ Saturday, August 9, 12:30–2:00 pm | Studio KIDS!: Tinker Hatfield (Ages 11–14) In this upcoming Studio KIDS! workshop, students will be introduced to the art and design work of Tinker Hatfield, a designer known for his numerous Air Jordan designs. After discussing the elements and principles of art and design, students will incorporate the artwork at NOMA into their Hatfield-inspired shoe designs. Registration is $25 for members; $30 full price. Advance registration is required and includes all art-making materials. https://noma.org/event/studio-kids-tinker-hatfield-ages-11-14/ Wednesday, August 13, 12:30 and 6:00 pm | Gallery Talks with Artist Thameur Mejri Artist Thameur Mejri in conversation about works in the exhibition Afropolitan: Contemporary African Arts at NOMA, which features Mejri’s 2018 work titled Untitled (Eroded Grounds). Mejri is the first Tunisian artist to be included in NOMA’s permanent collection. Included with museum admission, which is free for Louisiana residents every Wednesday. https://noma.org/event/gallery-talk-with-thameur-mejri/2025-08-13/ Wednesdays, August 13 and 20, 6–8 pm | Soul-Sip at NOMA A one-of-a-kind art and wine series that offers a unique blend of relaxation, art appreciation, and wine tasting. The evening includes gallery tours featuring select wine-related artifacts from NOMA’s permanent collection, guided meditation, a three-wine flight, and small bites from Cafe NOMA. Registration is $55 for NOMA members, $65 full price. Food, wine, and meditation kit included. https://noma.org/events/category/special/soul-sip/ Thursday, August 14, 12–1 pm | Book Club: Rolland Golden: Life, Love, and Art in the French Quarter Golden’s daugher Lucille Golden and widow Stella Golden—co-editors of his memoir—will attend this month's gathering to offer a deeper perspective on the book and the artist’s life. Free with advance registration. https://noma.org/event/book-club-rolland-golden/ Wednesday, August 20, 12:30 pm | Gallery Talk with Curator Anne Collins Smith Chief Curator Anne Collins Smith in conversation about works in the exhibition Dapper Bruce Lafitte: A Time Before Katrina. Included with museum admission, which is free for Louisiana residents every Wednesday. https://noma.org/exhibitions/dapper-bruce-lafitte-a-time-before-katrina/ Wednesday, August 20, 6:00 pm | Gallery Talk with Artist Dapper Bruce Lafitte Artist Dapper Bruce Lafitte in conversation about works in his exhibition A Time Before Katrina, on view in NOMA’s Great Hall. Included with museum admission, which is free for Louisiana residents every Wednesday courtesy of The Helis Foundation’s Art for All initiative. https://noma.org/exhibitions/dapper-bruce-lafitte-a-time-before-katrina/ Toups Family Meal (TFM), Chef Isaac and Amanda Toups' non-profit organization dedicated to fighting food insecurity in New Orleans, is hosting a special giveaway to fund the final days of their Summer Meal Program – an initiative that aims to feed close to 70,000 food insecure children each summer.
For every donation of $50 or more, supporters will be entered to win a free dinner for 4 at Toups Meatery, the contemporary Cajun restaurant in Mid-City that has earned Chef Toups’ awards and accolades, including semifinalist for James Beard: Best Chef South. Isaac and Amanda are seeking funds to continue their wonderful efforts and supply even more families with meals. To support this heartfelt initiative, donate by clicking here. The giveaway runs through August 15th. A winner will be announced on August 20th. |
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