Description

A singer who brought gospel to the national stage, a Grammy award-winning artist, and a civil rights leader who sang at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s March on Washington (and again at his funeral) -- Mahalia Jackson was a force to be reckoned with, as well as a proud daughter of New Orleans. It's only natural that the city's leaders named New Orleans' premier multi-purpose theater after her.

On the grounds of the 32-acre Armstrong Park, the Mahalia Jackson Theater for the Performing Arts hosts a full calendar of events that includes world-class theatrical releases and Broadway shows, opera, dance and musical performances. Luminaries such as Placido Domingo, Itzhak Perlman and a bunch of “Cats” are just a few of the acts to grace the stage of the theater. The Mahalia Jackson Theater is also thickly rooted in community and private local events, such as the Mardi Gras Balls held by some of the city's oldest Carnival krewes.

After a recent $27 million renovation where upgrades included improvements in the theater's lighting and sound, as well as a new dance floor, the Mahalia Jackson Theater offers expansive views both inside and out.

Conveniently located across from the French Quarter, people often make a grand night of it at the Mahalia Jackson Theater by taking in a show and dining before or afterward in one of the city's many nearby famous restaurants.

The theater shares the site in Armstrong Park with Congo Square, a historic area where free and enslaved African-Americans once gathered on Sundays to play music, sing and dance, and where the spiritual roots of jazz were first planted. Small wonder this part of the city is still the place in New Orleans where people gather to feel the beat and perform.