Le Petit Theatre will open the 2018-19 season with a one-man, three-character show about one of New Orleans’ most beloved musicians, Louis Armstrong. Satchmo at the Waldorf stars award-winning actor and New Orleanian Barry Shabaka Henley as Miles Davis, Joe Glaser and Louis Armstrong.

The show, written by Terry Teachout, takes place at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel in 1971 as Armstrong braces himself for one last show and reflects on his complex relationships with Miles Davis and his manager, Joe Glaser. For his first play, Teachout had unprecedented access to over 650 candid recordings of Armstrong’s private conversations, which served as inspiration for the dialogue in Satchmo at the Waldorf. The show journeys into the heart and mind of Armstrong, offering a uniquely intimate take on his life offstage.

“It’s one of the great joys of doing plays at Le Petit Theatre that we get to explore the lives of New Orleans’ most important artists and cultural ambassadors, and I’m simply thrilled to welcome the great Barry Shabaka Henley back to his hometown in a tour de force performance,” Maxwell Williams, Le Petit Theatre’s Artistic Director, said.   

Williams will direct Satchmo at the Waldorf in collaboration with Hannah Lax, Joshua Courtney, Laura Faye Sirkin-Brown and Matt Jackson of the creative team.

Performances will take place October 5-21 on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3 p.m. Subscriptions and single tickets are available at the box office on weekdays 12-5 p.m. or online anytime at lepetittheatre.com. There will also be several accompanying TheaterPLUS events including Behind the Curtain, Book Club with author Terry Teachout, Student Matinee and more.