It was opening night, or more accurately, re-opening night at the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans. The art deco landmark had been shuttered since Hurricane Katrina. Now, eight years later, a buzzing crowd passed beneath the marquee, full of anticipation to see the results of a $52 million renovation. This was something bigger than building repairs, though. The Saenger was a symbol. After the hurricane, mold and rot had crawled up the walls and taken over the once-beautiful space. Now, the theater was being given back to the public in better shape than before the storm.
As we walked in, I looked out across Canal Street at the brightly-lit Joy Theater. The Joy had been closed since pre-Katrina, and just reopened in 2011. In the age before malls, Canal Street had been the elegant, main shopping district of the city, but for as long as I could remember, it had just been a street to cross on the way to the French Quarter. Bathed in the light of theater marquees from both sides, I could imagine Canal Street regaining some of its former glory for the first time.
The first thing we all did upon entering the Saenger was look up. The restored ceiling of the atrium, full of intricately-sculpted moldings in colors so vibrant they seemed to be breathing, was truly breathtaking. Inside the auditorium, a canopy of twinkling stars beamed down to us from the theater’s iconic ceiling. This had always been my favorite part as a kid. Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth performed to usher in opening night. As could be expected, she was wonderful.
At the end of the show, Kristin slipped a Steve Gleason Saints jersey that nearly reached her knees over her couture gown. Gleason, who was in the audience, famously blocked an Atlanta Falcons punt which led to a victory in the first Saints game held in the reopened Superdome after Katrina. (The moment became a symbol of the city’s rebirth, and there is now a statue depicting the event outside the stadium.) Even though we were all dressed up – and at the theater – a Who Dat chant broke out, as it inevitably will whenever a large group of New Orleanians are gathered.
By this point, New Orleans’ Mayor Mitch Landrieu had joined Chenoweth on stage. I figured the Mayor, being a politician, couldn’t pass up the opportunity to say a few words in the theater’s spotlight. But he did something that surprised me: he adeptly belted out the opening verse of “Do You Hear the People Sing” from the musical Les Miserables! Before I knew what had happened, there was Kristin Chenoweth in a Saints jersey, the Mayor, Broadway’s Michael Cerveris, and several local choirs all performing Les Mis together. It was something that could only happen in New Orleans, and it made me realize just how lucky we were to have the Saenger back.
