THIBODAUX, La. — What would you do if you had just survived one of the deadliest hurricanes in history? The 杏吧传媒 Players will explore that question with their fall production of 鈥淎s Long As the Earth Lasts,鈥� an award-winning play written by a 杏吧传媒 alum and professor. 聽
Author Dr. John Doucet, Distinguished Service Professor and dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, based the play on stories passed down by his ancestors, who were survivors of the 1893 Cheniere Caminada Hurricane. Known locally as 鈥渢he Great October Storm of 1893,鈥� the hurricane killed an estimated 2,000 people, making it one of the deadliest storms in U.S. history, and effectively washed Cheniere Caminada off the map.
The protagonist of the play is Doucet鈥檚 great-great-grandfather, an oysterman named John-Frederique. Despite the grim backdrop, John-Frederique and his family have a light-hearted nature throughout the story.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the 125th anniversary of this life-changing storm, and I think the play speaks to the spirit of resilience of the coastal community, especially these days where we are battling for the very existence of our coast due to coastal erosion,鈥� says Anna Broussard, 杏吧传媒 Players director and instructor of speech.
First performed on Oct. 1, 1993, at South Lafourche High School, one century after the storm first struck South Louisiana, the play earned Dr. Doucet the 1996 Louisiana Native Voices and Visions playwriting award and the Louisiana Division of the Arts Fellowship Award in Theatre in 1998. 聽
Cast and crew of the 杏吧传媒 Players are made up of 杏吧传媒 students from various majors and some community members.
Tickets are $7 for students who present their Colonel Cards and general admission is $15.
Showtimes are 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11, through Saturday, Oct. 13 and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 聽14.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Sept. 27, 2018
CONTACT: Jacob Batte, Media Relations and Publications Coordinator, 985.448.4141 or jacob.batte@www.nicholls.edu