Rivertown Theaters Opens CINDERELLA BATISTELLA Today

Rivertown Theaters for the Performing Arts will bring back the popular, locally written Cinderella Batistella and The Ball and All in February on the Main Stage.

Cinderella Batistella
Today, February 7 - 16, 2014
Written by David Cuthbert and Bob Bruce
Directed by Ricky Graham

The story is told by Mother LeRoux , a reader and advisor, who stirs a big moss-hung cauldron of Mumbo Jumbo Gumbo and offers teach-yourself videos for sale via her toll-free number.

We flash back to the 1950s. Cinderella Batistella lives "over in the Marigny." She suffers the verbal slings and arrows of her cruel stepmother, Evangeline DeLaParish Batistella and her catty daughters, Feliciana and Tangipahoa "Cinderella Batistella, gonna lock her in the cella' -- if she gives us any static, gonna lock her in the attic!"

Mother LeRoux takes the ferry from Algiers, bringing Cinderella a ball gown to wear. She transforms Buster Crab and Berl Crawfish into attendants. In any case, Cinderella drives off to the Twelfth Night Ball in a snazzy convertible. There, she wins the heart of Harvey Canale Jr., son of Harvey Canale Sr., The King Cake King.

All this takes place in a mood of beguiling silliness buoyed by a dozen of the late Freddie Palmisano's cheerful tunes. The lyrics are witty without being forced, as in "Mother's Slightly Tarnished Golden Rule." Kids are bound to love this lighthearted romp with its heavy dash of local spices!

The complete schedule of performances is as follows:

Fridays & Saturdays February 7 & 8 and February 14 & 15 at 7:30 pm
Sundays February 9 & 16 at 2:00 pm

Cinderella Batistella ticket prices are $16.50 per person (tax included)

And the Ball and All
February 20 - 23, 2014
Written and Directed by Ricky Graham

the rites of Carnival is the annual run of ... and The Ball and All, the Ricky Graham-penned comedy about the Mystic Krewe of Terpsichore. Becky Allen stars as a yatty krewe organizer planning a truck float and getting ready for the ball.
"Girl, you got to get out of this neighborhood," Frances exclaims when she learns someone has broken a window at her friend Aggie's Mid-City lounge. Crime and other obstacles to peaceful existence in the Big Easy get the audience rolling with laughter through much of Ricky Graham's perennial favorite, ...And the Ball and All.

Ball debuted in 1995 (the year in which it's set) and had a long initial run. The outrageous, affectionate chronicle of y'at social custom must be imbued with immortal energies, because it keeps coming back and audiences still love it.

Much of the humor grows out of local references. The krewe members gossip, especially when one of them leaves the room, and they don't merely say the absent friend has gained weight, "She's got more rolls than McKenzie's."

Humor drives the play more than plot, but at its core, The Ball is a y'at comedy of manners, or a comedy of ill-manners. It's a remarkable and enduring achievement for writer/director Graham and the krewe.

The complete schedule of performances is as follows:

Thursday February 20 at 8:00 pm
Friday & Saturdays February 21 & 22 at 8:00 pm
Sunday February 23 at 6:00 pm

The Ball & All ticket prices are $27.50 per person (tax included). Corporate and individual sponsorships, season tickets, group and military discounts are available as well. To purchase, please call the Box Office: (504) 461-9475 or (504) 468-7221 or visit www.RivertownTheaters.com.

Pictured: Shelbie Mac as Cinderella Battistella

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