WINNER 2018 BIG EASY ENTERTAINMENT AWARD FOR:

BEST NEW WORK OF THEATER
BEST ACTRESS
BEST COSTUME DESIGN


A 16 year-old outcast looking to avenge the wrongful death of her Park Ranger Father. An ancient arachnid dying without naming an heir to her kingdom. A council of magical elders trying at all cost to keep their kingdom from fracturing. And a sorcerer hell-bent on avenging his expulsion. These stories and more converge in an epic tale full of fantasy, adventure, and camaraderie.

Presented outside, in the round, at sunset and Produced by The New Orleans Museum of Art and the Nola Project and seen by over 2400 New Orleanians, The Spider Queen is a high fantasy adventure unlike any other performance at The Besthoff Sculpture Garden before it!


"Original Play The Spider Queen, Shows off What Nola Project's Energetic Ensemble Does Best" Bradford Rhines, New Orleans Advocate

  • An engaging, ensemble-driven work that offers a unique twist on the theatergoing experience.

  • Under the direction of Jon Greene, the tightly told story engages every character, and the various narrative threads ensure that something is at stake in every scene, heightening the drama throughout.

  • The magic of “The Spider Queen” is not only in the telling but also the showing!

  • “The Spider Queen” requires a willingness to enter a world of strange sights and sounds, populated by odd creatures who pontificate in unusual syntax about the prophecies of the ancient scrolls.  Audiences... will recognize the very human story of redemption at the heart of this fairy tale.

"Review: The Spider Queen," Brian Sands for Trodding the Boards in Ambush Magazine. 

  • Jon Greene’s direction is worthy of an epic... keeping the close-by audience tethered to the tale.

  • With talk of annihilation and portals, which Greene has his cast deliver with utter conviction... [and his] fluid staging propels the story forward. While expertly guiding his actors into bold performances, he wisely never lets them descend into campiness. 

"Review: The Spider Queen," Mary Rickard for The New Orleans Gambit

  • In it's original production audience members’ imagination ignites.


Photos By Leslie Gamboni and Mason Wood