Now, the canon of Saints tributes has a new addition: a musical.
“Our City of Saints,” a celebration of New Orleanians’ love affair with the Saints, will debut next month during a three-day run (Aug. 29-31) at the Jefferson Performing Arts Center in Metairie.
The brainchild of Paul Soniat, a veteran New Orleans songwriter and lifelong Saints fan, the two-hour show is a tribute to the symbiotic relationship between the city and its wonderfully idiosyncratic NFL team.
“It’s a great story,” Soniat said. “There are some sad parts, some funny parts and some emotional parts, just like living in New Orleans.”
“Our City of Saints” is a true homegrown production. Chalmette native Scarlett Saizan-Lancon is making her main-stage directorial debut with the show. Her longtime friend, Aleen LeBoeuf, wrote the script.
LeBoeuf’s story follows the life of Henry Sinclair, a New Orleans native and diehard Saints fan, as he navigates the journey from youth to adulthood, while traversing the emotional peaks and valleys of Saints fandom along the way.
As the subtitle — “Where Faith, Family and Football Keep the Spirit Alive” — suggests, the show is less about football than it is about the powerful familial and cultural bonds the sport engenders, particularly in provincial Southern towns like New Orleans.
“It’s a story about family and community and this city that we all know and love,” said LeBoeuf, who honed her script-writing skills during her teaching tenure at Chalmette High, where she taught theater. “It’s what we do here. We love each other and take care of each other. And when our boys (the Saints) lose, we stick with them and pick them up and rally behind them.”
“It’s pure New Orleans,” added Dennis Assaf, the founder and artistic director of the Performing Arts Center.
Former New Orleans Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert, far left, shown here with director Scarlett Saizan-Lancon, and Superdome p.a. announcer Mark Romig, recorded a segment for “Our City of Saints,” a musical about the New Orleans Saints.
Courtesy of Jefferson Performing Arts Cener
Nineteen of Soniat’s original songs highlight the show, accompanied by a score arranged by veteran Baton Rouge composer Mike Esneault, a two-time Emmy Award winner.
The audience will also be treated to appearances from a few familiar faces. Superdome p.a. announcer Mark Romig serves as the emcee, moving the show from scene to scene. Legendary Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert appears in a short, recorded segment. Leroy “Whistle Monsta” Mitchell and other superfans will make cameo appearances.
“This project is the first time that songs and narrative come together to tell the story of the strong bond between a city and their football team,” said Soniat, who will make his acting debut as the older of the three Henry Sinclair characters. “It’s nice for New Orleans to be first in something positive.”
Soniat speaks from experience. He was born and raised in New Orleans’ Uptown neighborhood, not far from Tulane Stadium, where the Saints played their first eight seasons. He used money from grass-cutting jobs to buy season tickets, which, in those days, sold for $1.50 a seat. He attended the team’s inaugural game in 1967, when John Gilliam famously returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown.
“Everyone was a Saints fan back then and excited about the games,” said Soniat, a De La Salle High School and University of Louisiana graduate. “Unfortunately, the Saints didn’t win a lot back then. The halftime shows were more fun than the games.”
The years have blurred the memories from the games, but the nostalgia from those magical Sunday afternoons remains stronger than ever. That sentiment is infused throughout Soniat’s catalogue of songs, among them: “All Saints Day”; “Dark Days”; “A Girl from Kenna”; “Sweet Monday”; “Back Home in the Dome”; and “Sweet Brees.”
Fittingly, “We Are One Town,” closes the show, its clever lyrics celebrating the unifying power of Saints football: “Living our days, in separate ways … (But) we are one town, one town when the Saints come around. The haves and the have nots, criminals and cops, republican and democrats, uptown and downtown yats, we are one, one town when the Saints are around.”
“Our City of Saints” will debut on the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, a coincidence Assaf said he hopes will bolster the emotion of the performance. Organizers hope to make the show an annual affair to kick off football season.
“I really think this show is going to appeal to a lot of different people, not just football fans,” Saizan-Lancon said. “I’m terrified, and I always say, when you’re scared, you’re on the brink of something amazing. It’s going to be something beautiful.”