We got your weekend: Noshing, slamming, listening, going green

Director Emilie Whelan recording Cripple Creek’s “Under the Milkwood” broadcast, which the theatre company will re-present at their free Thursday night listening party.

Wednesday / Listen, will ya?!: This past December, Cripple Creek Theatre presented a limited-run immersive performance — including music, drama, food, and drinks — of Dylan Thomas’ 1950’s radio play “Under the Milkwood.” In case you missed the live showing, Cripple Creek if giving the public a second chance to enjoy the richly aural experience. At 10:30 PM at the St Claude Saturn Bar (3067 St. Claude), Cripple Creek invites the public for a free listening party (sorry, no food and cocktails this time) of their broadcast radio play.

Wednesday and Thursday / The beat goes on: Irvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra will hold their third annual The Big Beat fundraiser at the Royal Sonesta , honoring “masters of the New Orleans piano tradition.” At 8 PM (doors at 7:30) Wednesday, guests can attend the preview party at Irvin Mayfield’s Jazz Playhouse, in the Royal Sonesta (300 Bourbon), which will include an awards presentation, as well as performances by pianists Davell Crawford, David Torkanowsky, Henry Butler, and Marcia Ball.

The gala concert and dinner on Thursday will begin with a cocktail reception at 6 PM in the Royal Sonesta Ballroom, featuring a silent auction and performance by the New Orleans Jazz Institute’s Student Ambassadors. Following, guests will be treated to dinner, as well as a performance by Irvin Mayfield and the 18-piece NOJO Big Band, a special guest appearance by Ellis Marsalis, a musical tribute to Fats Domino, and a series of piano-related awards and tributes.

Tickets for Wednesday are $15, available at the door. Tickets for Thursday start at $350 each, which you can purchase by emailing Katie DeBruhl or calling 504-913-0575. All proceeds will support the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra

Thursday /Don’t PASS-OVER this pop-up : Whether you’re celebrating Passover or simply in the mood for some tender brisket and pillowy matzo balls, My House NOLA and Good Eggs NOLA have teamed up to deliver patrons an offbeat Passover Meal. The Passover Pop-up will, as implied by the event’s name, pop-up in the Good Eggs warehouse (1746 A Tchoupitoulas), with dinner — prepared by Laura Sugerman of Sugerman’s Bagels — starting at 7 PM (guests are encouraged to arrive at 6:30 to mingle). The all kosher menu will include: house-made matzoh, horseradish deviled quail eggs, matzoh ball soup, wine braised brisket with tart cherries, butter herbs salad, haroseth truffles, coconut macaroon sandwiches with lime curd, a specialty cocktail, and, of source lots of wine. The all-inclusive meal is $35 per person, purchasable online.

All-female musical ensemble The New Orleans Nightingales will perform at the HNOC’s Concert in the Courtyard series Thursday evening.

Thursday /Sister act : In conjunction with the Historic New Orleans Collection’s most recent exhibition “Shout, Sister, Shout! The Boswell Sisters of New Orleans,” this month’s Concert in the Courtyard will feature the music of The New Orleans Nightingales, a local, all-female group of jazz and folk musicians and vocalists. The performance will honor the Boswell Sisters and female vocalists who have followed in their footsteps.

The concert will be from 6 – 8 PM in the HNOC courtyard (533 Royal Street). Free for members / $10 for non-members (includes three complimentary drinks — white wine and/or beer from NOLA Brewing Co.).

Friday /Can you hear me now? : As part of National Poetry Month, the CAC and Junebug Productions present a poetry slam event, “Literally Speaking: Do you hear me?” with host Frederick “Hollywood” Delahoussaye. Members of spoken word teams MelaNated Writers Collective and Team SNO (Slam New Orleans) will battle via verse in response to the CAC’s current exhibition “30 Americans.” The slam is from 7 – 9 PM in the Freeport-McMoRan Theare at the CAC (900 Camp). The event is free and open to the public.

Read more about Slam New Orleans here.

Music, entertainment, auctions, food and drinks will all be on hand at the annual New Orleans Earth Day Festival.

Saturday / Maybe it IS easy being green : New Orleans Earth Day Festival and Green Business Expo is back for another anticipatory Earth Day festival. The free community celebration, from 10 AM – 7:30 PM in Louis Armstrong Park, will feature a range of music and entertainment acts; an interactive art installation; a raffle and silent auctions; numerous food, drink, and craft vendors; and, most importantly, opportunities to celebrate the work of environmental groups, learn about alternative energy and make a case for a strong green economy and reduced pollution

Entertainment highlights will include musical performances from the Treme Brass Band, the Stooges Brass Band, and Daria & the Hip Drops; a second line; presentations from Team Sno (Slam New Orleans), MJ Nola — the infamous New Orleanian Michael Jackson impressionist, and “Bicycle Fairies of St. Andrew” — an original story about fairies friendship, and bicycles. Several eco-friendly organizations — including Bike East, Whole Foods, and Solar Alternatives — will perform demos. Attendees can also participate in a game of Earth Day Bingo, for which one lucky winner will receive a free lightweight bicycle cruiser. And — as all good New Orleans events do — crafts, food (Woody’s Fish Tacos, Dat Dog, LA Divina, and more) and beer will be abundant and flowing (for purchase).

For the full entertainment lineup, click here.

Saturday / Wrestle WOMANia : NO LAW, a not-for-profit all-female-identified arm-wrestling league, is hosting their arm wrestling championship extravaganza, Super Brawl II: SHE HAS RISEN, as past champs reassume their wrestling alter egos, costumes and all, to vie for the top title. In addition to the wrestling showdowns, there will be live music, a DJ, a half-time date auction, raffles, drinks, and of course betting. The event, at the Art Klub (519 Elysian Fields) begins at 8 PM. There will be a $5 cover; all proceeds will benefit Girlsrock New Orleans, an organization which acknowledges that “young women, Trans gendered and non-gender conforming youth are not often encouraged to develop themselves musically.

To learn more about NO LAW, watch a short documentary about the organization and its mission here.

Chelsea Lee is associate editor at NolaVie. Email comments to her at chelsea@nolavie.com.