Bryan Batt Kicks Off Tennessee Williams Literary Fest 2010 Coffee and Conversation

Join us for a new season of humanities discussions. Presentations include author interviews, book signings, question-and-answer sessions, and complimentary coffee. Coffee and Conversation is produced by the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans Literary Festival and sponsored by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities. Books by participating authors are made available by the "Friends of the Library Association" and are for sale during the programs.

Presentations are free and open to the public and held from 7:00-9:00 pm at:

Jefferson Parish Library
East Bank Regional Branch
4747 West Napoleon Avenue
Metairie, LA

Bryan Batt pays tribute to the leading woman in his life--his mother. Now an actor on Broadway, and on AMC's Emmy, Golden Globe, and Peabody Award-winning Mad Men, Bryan Batt remembers the strong, loving Southern belle who supported him through his discovery of theater and his struggles for acceptance as a gay man in the South. In She Ain't Heavy, She's My Mother, Gayle Batt holds her family together as alcoholism and adultery threaten to tear apart their home. And she does it all in style. A celebration of love in all its forms, Batt's memoir will break your heart and piece it back together again. Come hear Batt share his stories in a lively discussion with celebrated television personality, Peggy Scott Laborde.

Bryan Batt is an actor, designer, and civic activist. Although he is best known for his role as Salvatore Romano on Mad Men, Batt is also a Broadway veteran with leading roles in La Cage Aux Folles, Beauty and the Beast, Seussical the Musical, Sunset Blvd, Saturday Night Fever, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Starlight Express, and Cats. Batt and his partner, Tom Cianfichi, have opened a gift and home accessories shop, HAZELNUT, in New Orleans.

Facilitator: Peggy Scott Laborde is a documentary filmmaker (Bourbon Street: The Neon Strip; Mardi Gras: The Passing Parade; and The Nightlife That Was are among her credits) and host of WYES-TV's Steppin' Out, a weekly arts and entertainment review program. She is the author of several books, including Christmas in New Orleans

New Orleans Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. ANNIE (Ascension Community Theatre)

20.6% of votes

2. THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (Sullivan theatre)

18.7% of votes

3. THE WIZARD OF OZ (Slidell Little Theatre)

11.1% of votes

Vote Now!