**$10 Student Tickets Available**
JOIN WWNO AND NPR FOR A WORLD PREMIER THEATRICAL STORYTELLING EVENT, "WATER," DIRECTED BY TONY AWARD WINNER KENNY LEON AND HOSTED BY NPR'S MICHELE NORRIS, MUSIC FROM MEMBERS OF THE VOICE OF THE WETLANDS ALL-STARS.
Big Chief Monk Boudreaux, Percussion and Vocals
Johnny Sansone, Accordian and Vocals
Waylon Thibodeaux, Fiddle and Vocals
Also Anika Noni Rose, voice of Tiana in Princess and the Frog
NPR Presents: Water ±
October 25, 2014
8 p.m.
The Saenger Theatre
Hosts: Michele Norris and Eve Troeh
Support WWNO and see a World Premiere performance
Tickets from $25 - $45 (plus Ticketmaster fees)
Here and in six other cities around the nation, Water± will stir minds and emotions about local, national, and global water challenges. As a current member, you are among the first offered the opportunity to secure premium seating for this World Premiere at the SaengerTheatre, and to meet the cast and NPR personalities at the on-stage post-performance party.
Proceeds from this event will benefit NPR and WWNO, providing important support for our Coastal Desk and other local news and cultural initiatives. Your gift now is imperative to the success of WWNO’s October 6-11 Fall Membership Drive.
More About Water±:
NPR Presents Water + brings together Tony-Award winning director Kenny Leon, award-winning NPR Science Correspondent Christopher Joyce, and award-winning theater writers Arthur Yorinks and Carl Hancock Rux with an original sound score by acclaimed violinist Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR). The show starts its eight-city tour in New Orleans. It will be co-hosted by NPR’s Michele Norris and WWNO’s Eve Troeh and will feature Tony Award-winner Anika Noni Rose (Caroline, or Change); Tony Award-nominee, Michele Shay (August Wilson’s Seven Guitars); and Jason Dirden (Tony Award-winning Production, A Raisin in the Sun).
“NPR Presents Water + brings together NPR’s journalistic rigor with the artistic and poetic nature of theatrical storytelling, amplifying local stories about water issues that are significant to each region and have a global resonance,” said Indira Etwaroo, executive producer and director of NPR Presents. “We are thrilled to partner with WWNO, who received the Edward R. Murrow Award for their coastal coverage, to create and present the premiere event and to hold it at the historic Saenger Theatre, which reopened after its own dramatic water story post-Hurricane Katrina.”
“Water is such an important topic, not only for Louisiana, but also for the nation and the world. NPR Presents Water + will help to open conversations and the meaningful exchange of ideas in a new way,” said Paul Maassen, WWNO general manager. “We are honored to have the World Premiere here in New Orleans, and for WWNO to play a role in this local and national collaboration among NPR and public radio stations across the nation.”
“I am excited to work with NPR Presents on this meaningful and highly relevant undertaking,” said director Kenny Leon. "Theater has the ability to illuminate the human experience in a way that is unique, vital and authentic. Our goal is to allow Water + to showcase our shared humanity, our shared challenges across the US and the globe."
Building on NPR and Member Stations’ news coverage, the NPR Presents Water + series will highlight each city’s unique, nuanced relationship with water. The scripts are created in partnership with the Member Station combining local sensibilities with national themes. No artistic licenses are taken with the news content; stories are adapted from on-air and online coverage, as well as oral histories, into monologues and dialogues.
The Tour:
October 25, 2014, New Orleans in partnership with WWNO
November 8, 2014, Weekend in Washington, NPR
November 10, 2014, New York, NY in partnership with WNYC
November 12, 2014, San Francisco, CA in partnership with KQED
November 13, 2014, Seattle, WA in partnership with KUOW
November 17, 2014, Atlanta, GA in partnership with WABE
November 18, 2014, Cleveland, OH in partnership with Ideastream
November 19, 2014, Detroit, MI in partnership with WUOM
NPR Presents
NPR Presents is NPR’s multiplatform national live events initiative that furthers the mission of public radio. Events bring to the stage world-class content that is as diverse as the American land- and sound-scapes they reflect, programmed for a curious, culturally-engaged and savvy global audience. NPR Presents is built on the belief in two-way conversations and intimate storytelling with our audience and in collaboration with our member station community.
WWNO
WWNO New Orleans Public Radio is the NPR member radio station for New Orleans and 13 parishes of southeast Louisiana, broadcasting on 89.9 FM and on KTLN 90.5 FM in the Houma-Thibodaux area. WWNO broadcasts news, music, and cultural programs on 89.9/90.5; 24-hour classical on WWNO HD2; and 24-hour jazz on WWNO HD3. WWNO’s trusted, thought-provoking news and lively cultural entertainment make it one of the top stations in metro New Orleans. WWNO’s programs and news features are available at wwno.org. WWNO is a public service of the University of New Orleans.
