She Danced with a Redfish: A Play in Two Acts

From New Orleans's mythology springs a story capturing Marie Laveau as a young free woman of color and follows her as she is transformed from a Catholic bride to an active participant in African rituals in the Pre-Civil War French Quarter. When the Saint-Domingue priestess, Sanité Dédé, performs a midnight ritual cleansing in Marie's cottage the unexpected return of her husband, Jacques Paris, disrupts the ceremony, ultimately leading to Marie's awakening through African mysticism. Filled with nineteenth-century legendary Creoles--the mysterious Jacque Paris, Priestess Sanité Dédé, Dr. John, Colette Delacroix, and Bras Coupé--the magic of the Vieux Carré is brought to life in a tale of love, betrayal, and empowerment. She Danced with a Redfish pays tribute to the African traditions that shaped New Orleans and still reverberate in and beyond Congo Square