Though the city’s collective memory of the flood may not need sharpening,  the final play of John Biguenet’s Rising Water trilogy, Mold, transports audiences to New Orleans one year after the disaster, when the city stagnated in its quiet ruin.

Tonight, hear some award-winning Chicano rock at Tip's, Indie God Jeff Mangum is in town for a rare show, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra is playing for free in the St. Louis Cathedral. On this day in 1680, New Orleans’ founder, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, was born in what is now Montreal, Canada. Click for more hump day happenings.  

Tonight, come early to the Krewe du Vieux Queen’s Shakedown! See performances from Dr. John, George Porter Jr., and more. Theatre people can head to the CAC, or check out the first day of MicroFest. On this day in 1990, Louis Armstrong was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Click through for some pre-weekend events.

It’s rainy and cold, but that’s no reason to stay inside your house. There’s still comedy, theatre, and live music going on all over the city. On this day in 1972, Tulane Stadium hosted the Super Bowl VI in which The Dallas Cowboys beat the Miami Dolphins. Now, more hump day happenings.

Southern Rep opens its 26th mainstage season with another excellent selection by Artistic Director Aimee Hayes with the comedy-horror, Venus in Fur by David Ives (2010). As in Wolves, Hayes’ contribution to Fringe 2012, this intimate drama again creates surprising suspense and seat-squirming honesty between two people playing with love.

The New Orleans theatre scene's downtown renaissance continued to blossom in 2012, as the companies decided they liked each other so much that they'd work together. The continued addition of Shakespeare and Broadway in NOLA also gave the community a classical grounding that made the fringe seem even fringier. Here's a look at what we're still loving from 2012, and an early rundown of 2013 dates to save:

With performers planting and ready to bloom in the Crescent City for the weekend, The New Orleans Fringe Festival arrived for its annual installment Wednesday night. NoDef's crack team of reviewers fanned out across the Marigny-Bywater and beyond to get the early skinny on what the alt-theatre extravaganza has to offer this year. From dance to puppetry to feral creatures to sex references that make people squirm, this year's installment seems poised to test the limits of one festival once again. Here's some reviews:

Forget touring Broadway shows like at The Mahalia Jackson Theatre or divas in concert at The Lakefront Arena, Southern Rep (and many other companies') The Lily’s Revenge is the grandest spectacular available in our city for half the price of such big name shows.

Today, enjoy some jazz in the park with John Boutte, see a lily transform into a human being in a New Orleans theatre collaboration, and celebrate the Treme’s 200th birthday. Happy Birthday to our city’s own multiple Grammy-winning musician, Wynton Marsalis, born October 18, 1961.

The cool front moving in means fall is fast approaching, and the breeze is bringing a heaping helping of fall theatre offerings with it. From Paris to Shanghai to the underbelly of New York City, Jessa Bingham runs down where New Orleans stages are transporting us over the next few months.