Welcome! This year the Anthony Bean Community Theater and Acting School celebrates15 years of excellence in the performing arts.

The Anthony Bean Community Theater (ABCT) was established in Spring 2000 to meet the growing demands of New Orleans area residents seeking a quality, culturally diverse, performing arts venue. The theater also met the needs of individuals seeking to learn the art of acting, set design and theatre management. In recent years, ABCT has become a vehicle to enter New Orleans' booming "Hollywood South" film industry.

ABCT is unique in that it is not only a major theater production company, but a year-round, open enrollment acting school serving both adults and children with an eclectic group of courses designed to meet the basic needs of individuals seeking careers in stage and screen acting, set design and theatre management.  

ABCT believes that the arts have the power to transform people's lives. Our Mission is simple: "to inspire those we serve through the magic of the arts."  The Hallmark of ABCT and that which separates us from "all the rest" is - diversity.  ABCT proudly presents the most diverse theater schedule in the New Orleans area.  Our programing fare includes, the classics; Shakespeare, August Wilson and Tennessee Williams as well as popular drama (Reflections and Misery), comedy (Jar the Floor, Steal Away), and musicals (The Color Purple, Simply Irma and The Phyllis Hyman Story). Most importantly, ABCT mounts original plays such as I'd Rather Be Rich and Say Amen, and showcases our talented kids in perennial favorites: Cats, The Wiz, High School Musical and 504.  

The goal of the ABCT Acting School is to provide an intense, high quality learning and performing opportunity in an atmosphere where young people are encouraged to set goals, take risks and view mistakes as an avenue for learning. ABCT opens students up to the greatness that lies within them and creates an awareness that the Arts are a constructive vehicle of personal expression.

Anthony Bean Community Theater boasts a full professional portfolio including video DVD Productions and an ABCT clothing line. In addition to children and adult acting classes, ABCT offers a youth theater, an after-school program, and the Anthony Bean Community Theater City Choir.  During the summer months, working in conjunction with the New Orleans Recreation Department Commission - ABCT also operates a summer day camp.

We at ABCT wish to express our sincere gratitude for your ongoing support over the past 15 years and we urge you to purchase your PASS for the upcoming season. Thank you for your ongoing support. We look forward to seeing you at our next production.

Come and celebrate our Anniversary and you will agree.

"ABCT IS MORE THAN THEATER

IT'S CULTURE!"

Back ABCT! Be a part of the Anthony Bean Community Theater and Acting School! ABCT is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and all contributions are tax deductible. Donate today and keep the arts alive and exciting in our community!

2008-04-04 00:00:00.0

Adapted by Lydia Diamond from the novel by Toni Morrison

New Orleans, LA. March 22, 2008…The Anthony Bean Community Theater presents the Louisiana Premiere of The Bluest Eye, A powerful drama adapted by Lydia Diamond from the novel by Toni Morrison. The play is directed by Adella Gautier. Performances take place April 4-6, 11-13, 18-20 & 25-27. On Friday and Saturday at 8:00pm with Sunday’s matinee at 3:00pm. On April 6, Sunday’s performance will be at 8:00pm ONLY. Tickets are $18.00 for adults, $16.00 for students and seniors, and are available by calling the Box Office at (504) 862-7529. (Box Office hours are Tuesday-Saturday at 2-6pm. and two hours before performances). You can also charge by phone or charge on line at www.anthonybeantheater.com

The drama takes place in Lorain, Ohio, 1941. Eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove (Codi Gayles) prays for the one thing she knows will change her life – eyes as blue as Shirley Temple’s. The year the marigolds in Lorain do not bloom, Pecola’s life does change – in unexpected and devastating ways. This vivid adaptation of Toni Morrison’s Pulitzer Prize- winning debut novel is the heartrending story of three girls coming of age into a world that is equal parts beauty and ugliness, love and hate, triumph and tragedy.

The cast includes Alozia St. Julien as Claudia, Giselle Nakhid as Freda, Coti Gayles as Pecola, Linda Merritt as Mama, Donna King as Mrs. Breedlove, Alex Lewis, III as Daddy, Roscoe Reddix, Jr. as Cholly, Marie Weatherspoon as Maureen Peal, Nadine Cutno as Woman 1, Carol Thomas as Woman 2 & Greta Zehner as Little Miss Fisher.

Starring
Coti Gayles as Pecola

(L) Giseel Nakhid, Alozia St. Julien & Linda Merritt in The Bluest Eye

(Standing) Coti Gayles, (L) Alozia St. Julien & Giselle Nakhid

Carol Thomas (L), Linda Merritt & Nadine Cutno in The Bluest Eye

Coti Gayles (L) & Donna King in The Bluest Eye

Coti Gayles (L), Giselle Nakhid & ALozia St.Julien in The Bluest Eye

Gretna Zehner (L), Donna King & Coti Gayles in The Bluest Eye