The Saenger Theater has had a long journey towards recontruction post Hurricane Katrina but has announced its broadway season that is set to start as soon as October 2013.

The theater’s reopening will bring Broadway shows such as The Book of Mormon and Memphis to New Orleans audiences.

New Orleans has already coined the term the “Hollywood of the South.” Now, with a 52 million dollar renovation project of the Saenger Theater, conceived in January 2006 by the Canal Street Development Corporation, a multi-purpose arts facility and premiere stage will reside in New Orleans.

In 1927, at the corner of Canal and North Rampart Streets, the Saenger Theatre was born. It showcased thousands of feature films, plays and productions, elevating New Orleans popularity and support of artistic ventures. However, after Hurricane Katrina destroyed crucial components to the structure, the Canal Street Development Board of Directors immediately decided to plan a redevelopment of the theater to revamp the community’s spirit and innate love of performing arts, Cynthia Connick, the executive director of the CSDC said.

“That dicussion began January 2006 and has culminated in a 52 million dollar restoration and owned by the Canal Street Development Corporation and the City of New Orleans, operated by ACE theatrical group, previous owners of the theater,” Connick said.

“For many New Orleanians, it is the quintessential theater experience for them. Some people may never make it to New York and this is their venue,” she said.

Connick said that art and tourism industries will begin to boom with another major venue for performing arts, marking a return of Broadway in New Orleans. Katrina’s devastation may have incurred damages to the main infrastructure of the building but not to the city’s ability to keep the arts alive, Connick emphasized.

According the The Times Picayune, “contemporary musicals are the main focus for Broadway in New Orleans, which is sponsored by East Jefferson General Hospital.”

As much as the theater attracts attention on a national level, the Loyola theater community plans to witness the Saenger’s restoration through the experience of students and teachers, hoping to gain professional experience in arts administration as well as performance, Patrick Gendusa said, professor of Theater Arts and former executive administrator for the Saenger.

“It will allow them exposure to professional theatre. Hopefully opportunities will arise for our students to intern with the Saenger staff, have master-classes, and work backstage on the tours.” This was a great transition!

In regards to the economical impact of this addition, Georgia Gresham, Loyola’s chair of the Theatre Arts, said, “Investment comes in many forms. A vibrant arts community has positive impact on a city’s economy. There are statistics and studies that demonstrate that for each dollar spent there is a multiple dollar impact.”

“The performing arts changes lives like nothing else. It is a place where everyone is welcomed and feels at home. We need to support arts in our schools and our city,” Patrick Gendusa said.

Kevin Clifford can be reached at [email protected]  

A construction worker looks out of a window at the future Lasalle apartments. The apartment complex is housed in the same building in which the Saenger theater will reside on Canal Street. (WADNER PIERRE/THE MAROON)

This is a view of the side of the Saegner Theater which face North Rampart St. The theater is set to host its first Broadway musical in October. (WADNER PIERRE/THE MAROON)