A new composition at a new performance venue: That’s what’s on the calendar Dec. 28 when local composer Tucker Fuller’s latest composition is premiered at the recently opened New Marigny Theatre in New Orleans’ Faubourg Marigny neighborhood.
On the floor space once frequented by worshipers at the former Annunciation Catholic Church on Marais Street, audiences can now watch musical and dance performances and attend other cultural events.
The New Marigny Theatre, billed as “The Church of Arts and Sciences,” was the brainchild of Julian Mutter from the family who founded and still owns Doerr Furniture. He purchased the then-vacant church building and other structures on the property from the Archdiocese of New Orleans in 2021. After extensive renovations, he repurposed the 19th-century structure into a performance venue similar to the Marigny Opera House less than a mile away.
As Mutter recalled, “I was riding my bike one day, and I passed by the church and noticed that a for sale sign that was up. I wondered what was going on and called the archdiocese. They said they had about nine offers on it but they couldn’t make a decision. I told them I was going to put in an offer for the asking price after the suggestion of the man I talked to.
“I didn’t hear anything for three weeks and I called back and he said they’re very interested in your offer. They called back about a week later and said, ‘We accept your offer.’ So I bought the church, the rectory and the hall and I told myself, ‘What a challenge this is going to be.’”
New Marigny Theatre
Mutter has a passion for renovating historic property.
“I feel like it’s important because we’ve lost so much already," he said. "We need to keep as much as possible, particularly when it’s a foundational piece of a neighborhood. And so I bought it and vowed to bring it back.”
High-volume attendance
Once the venue, with most of its original stained-glass windows still intact, was ready to start hosting events, the community responded with high-volume attendance. It has hosted dance performances, chamber series, classical concerts, aerial performance shows and it even serves as a regular meeting place for a local yoga group. The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra holds most of its rehearsals there.
There are plans for stage plays, film and video screenings, arts-related seminars and workshops and other community functions, once all of the necessary technical equipment has been purchased and installed. Recently, Mutter had a padded floor installed on the stage that is user-friendly for dance performances.
“For me, this is all a lifelong commitment,” Mutter said. “Once the theater in the church is done and we have all the equipment we’ll need, I’ll continue to invest to improve the property as well as add more amenities, including a smaller rehearsal space. I am fully committed to this project. It’s one of the things that will be, in a sense, a legacy.”
'Winter Music' performance
The NMT performance Dec. 28, titled “Winter Music,” will be performed by a five-piece chamber ensemble of visiting Brazilian musicians. The featured piece will be the world premiere of Fuller’s 15-minute composition, titled “Bric-a-brac”
The piece was commissioned by Thibodaux arts patrons Chris and Will Robichaux and evolved from some of his earlier work, Fuller said.
“I took some old piano scores that I wrote back in 2011 but had never been played,” Fuller said. “Then I reset them for a string quartet. That’s why I call them ‘Bric-a-brac,’ because they’re sort of like things from the past that you just find laying around. They all go together and they work very well together into this four-movement quartet.”
The ensemble will also be playing another piece by Fuller titled “The Road Ahead,” which was previously performed elsewhere. Another one of his original compositions will be premiered in the LPO’s Jan. 4 chamber series concert at the New Marigny Theater.
In addition to Fuller’s new work, the ensemble will also play winter-themed pieces by Antonio Vivaldi, Argentine composer Astor Piazzolla, and Brazilian composers Osvaldo Costa de Lacerda and Paulo Mourão.
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WINTER MUSIC
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 28
WHERE: New Marigny Theatre, 2301 Marais St., New Orleans
TICKETS: $20 general admission, $10 students (suggested donations)
INFO: newmarignytheatre.com