We’ve got your weekend: Theater, tall ships, art, and poetry

Paolo Veronese, Italian, 1528–1588, St. Jerome in the Wilderness, 1566–67, Oil on canvas, San Pietro Martire, Murano (from NOMA’s Veronese in Murano exhibit)

Wednesday, April 18/Marquette Theater (Loyola University): Southern Rep is putting on their newest play, Eclipsed. This play, written by Danai Gurira and directed by Malika Oyetimein, tells the story of five women, and their lives are set on a nightmarish detour by the Liberian Civil War. As they navigate the dangers of captivity and imagine what the future could hold, the arrival of a new girl threatens to upend their delicately balanced community. Southern Rep’s production of Eclipsed will run from April 18- May 16 (Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 PM and Sundays at 3:00 at Loyola University, Marquette Theatre). You can purchase tickets here.

Thursday, April 19/Downtown New Orleans: The ships are coming! The ships are coming! Specifically, we’re talking the Tall Ships. They  have officially left Pensacola and are on their way to New Orleans. This Tricentennial event will float up to the riverfront at Woldenberg Park and the lake at Pontchartrain Landing on April 19-22. This event is free and has other community events in tandem with Nola Navy Week. The ships will arrive in Pilot Town on Tuesday before being ushered up the Mississippi River and docking riverside at approximately Thursday at noon. 

Friday, April 20/New Orleans Healing Center (2372 St. Claude Ave.): Nothing heals the soul quite like poetry, so get ready to feel your soul explode and resuscitate.  The 2018 New Orleans Poetry Festival and Small Press Fair will take place from Friday–Sunday, April 20–22, 2018, at the New Orleans Healing Center. The festival begins at Café Istanbul on Friday, April 20, with an opening reception and reading by newly-appointed poet laureate of Louisiana, Jack Bedell, followed by performances by the award-winning Baton Rouge Slam Team and a concert by poet/ songwriter Kelcy Mae and Ever More Nest. The next two days, Saturday and Sunday, will feature a rich variety of events showcasing hundreds of poets of local, national, and international origin, with events beginning at 9:00 AM each day. You can find more information and a full listing of events here. 

Friday, April 20/Contemporary Arts Center (900 Camp Street): The Contemporary Arts Center, in partnership with longtime collaborator Junebug Productions, is presenting the reprise of Gomela/to return: Movement of Our Mother Tongue, on Friday and Saturday, April 20 & 21. Gomela, a work by Junebug, is based on hope, survival, courage and the resilience that exists in the face of oppression. Directed by Stephanie McKee-Anderson and developed by dancers Kesha McKey, Kai Knight, Jeremy Guyton and poet Sunni Patterson, Gomela/to return: Movement of Our Mother Tongue takes audiences on a journey through time and space. That journey begins at 7:30 PM, and you can purchase tickets on cacno.org. 

Friday, April 20/New Orleans Museum of Art (1 Collins Diboll Circle): The Renaissance has had a renaissance, and it is all coming to fruition in City Park. The New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) presents Veronese in Murano, a focused exhibition featuring two Renaissance masterpieces by the celebrated artist Paolo Veronese (1528– 1588). NOMA is the second and final venue for the paintings, titled St. Jerome in the Wilderness and St. Agatha Visited in Prison by St. Peter, on view April 19 through September 3. Remember that Wednesdays are free for locals at NOMA. 

Saturday, April 21/Tulane University Newcomb Art Museum (Woldenberg Art Center):     Can you smell the delicious culinary fumes coming from Newcomb Art Museum? We can’t either; not yet, but those smells will be pouring out on Saturday because five of New Orleans’ top chefs will come together using their culinary expertise to provide multi-cultural dishes in support of International High School of New Orleans’ (IHSNO) gifted art students.  IHSNO is presenting iStudio and A Taste of NOLA at a gala being held at Tulane University Newcomb Art Museum on Saturday, April 21, 2018 from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM. A ticket to the event includes entry and access to the gala and museum, food, drinks, a silent auction, live entertainment and more. The event attire will be cocktail casual and tickets will cost $75 with special pricing of $125 for couples, which you can purchased at the event.