She Danced with a Redfish: A Play in Two Acts

From New Orleans’s vast mythology springs this play featuring Marie Laveau, a young free woman of color, as she is transformed from a Catholic bride to an active participant in African spiritual traditions 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 Marie’s husband, Jacques Paris, disrupts the ceremony, ultimately leading to her awakening to African mysticism. The magic of the Vieux Carré is brought to life in this 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.