McMain Students Celebrate Black History Month With THE COLOR PURPLE Reading With Broadway Cast Members

In honor of Black History Month, the Orleans Parish School Board (OPSB) and Broadway in New Orleans have partnered together to give 30 McMain High School students an exclusive opportunity to hear a reading of Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel THE COLOR PURPLE from cast members of the Tony Award-winning Broadway show. Students will have the opportunity to ask cast members questions about the show, storyline and their professional backgrounds. Presented by the New Orleans Theatre Association, THE COLOR PURPLE is part of the East Jefferson General Hospital Broadway in New Orleans 2017 - 2018 season and will play at the Saenger Theatre Feb. 20-25.

THE COLOR PURPLE will play in New Orleans at the Saenger Theatre for a one-week engagement Feb. 20 - Feb. 25, 2018. Tickets for THE COLOR PURPLE start at $30 and are on sale now at the Saenger Theatre Box Office (1111 Canal St., New Orleans, Louisiana, 70116), BroadwayInNewOrleans.com, all Ticketmaster outlets and by phone at (800) 982-2787. Group sales are offered for groups of 10 or more and will be available by calling (504) 287-0372.

BROADWAY ACROSS AMERICA (BAA) is part of The John Gore Organization family of companies, which includes Broadway.com and The Broadway Channel. Led by 11-time Tony-winning producer John Gore (Owner & CEO), BAA is the foremost presenter of first-class touring productions in North America, operating in 44 markets with over 400,000 subscribers. Current and past productions include Beautiful, Cats, Chicago, Dear Evan Hansen, Groundhog Day, Hairspray, Hello, Dolly!, Million Dollar Quartet, On Your Feet!, The Producers, School of Rock and Waitress. Broadway.com is the premier theater website for news, exclusive content and ticket sales. For more information please visit BroadwayAcrossAmerica.com and Broadway.com.

Originally built in 1927, the Saenger Theatre was designed to reflect a magnificent 15th century Italian courtyard and gardens, with a starlit evening sky ceiling, arched surroundings, statuary, columns and decorative moldings. In January 2012, the City of New Orleans, Canal Street Development Corporation (CSDC) and ACE Theatrical Group formed a public-private partnership to carry out a $52 million restoration project after the iconic theatre was severely damaged during Hurricane Katrina. The Saenger Theatre reopened in the fall of 2013, authentically restored to the finest level of detail, with state-of-the-art technological improvements and updated first-class amenities. The theatre hosts a wide variety of performing arts attractions including live theater, comedy shows and musical acts. The Saenger Theatre is located at the corner of Canal and North Rampart streets in downtown New Orleans and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Visit http://www.saengernola.com for more information.

New Orleans Theatre Association (NOTA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation whose mission is to attract and present the finest theatrical and performing arts attractions available in New Orleans. NOTA is also dedicated to financial and technical support of local non-profit institutions in New Orleans that are dedicated to the furtherance of theatrical and musical education and production.

Founded in 1992, Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG) is the world's number one live-theatre company with close to 50 venues in Britain and the United States. ATG is also an internationally recognized award-winning theatre producer with productions in the West End and on Broadway and touring productions in the UK, North America, Europe, Australia and Asia. ATG is also the market leader in theater ticketing services through ATG Tickets, LOVETheatre and Group Line.

On Broadway, ATG operates the newly refurbished Lyric Theatre, and the oldest theatre on Broadway, the recently restored Hudson. ATG also owns and operates the Saenger and Mahalia Jackson theatres in New Orleans, The Majestic and Empire theatres in San Antonio and the magnificent Kings Theatre in Brooklyn. The most recent addition to ATG North America's portfolio is the Emerson Colonial Theatre in Boston, which will re-open in 2018 with the pre-Broadway world premiere of Moulin Rouge! The Musical.

ATG's most recent producing credits in the U.S. include Sunday in the Park with George and the Lincoln Center's The King and I and in the UK Oslo, Glengarry Glen Ross and The Spoils. Award-winning producer Sonia Friedman is a group partner. Recent productions in the West End include Funny Girl, Dreamgirls and The Ferryman and on Broadway Farinelli and the King, 1984, and soon to open at the Lyric Theatre, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. atg.co.uk/europe/americas/