Hands down the best community theatre in the Baton Rouge area is Theatre Baton Rouge. You may have…read moreknown it by it's prior name, Baton Rouge Little Theater, but either way- it's quite good. I have experienced well over 50 shows there as a patron and volunteer. The production standards are quite high for a place that relies on volunteers for their pool of talent. They put on over 10 shows a season, including musicals and plays that were on Broadway just a few years prior. The theater itself holds less than 300 patrons, so there's not really a bad seat in the house. They also have a smaller space next door where they put on more avant-garde pieces, which seats around 100. The ticket prices are in line with expectations and a fraction of what you'd pay for the same show in NY.

I've been coming to Theater Baton Rouge since 2002. They have season tickets which give you 5 plays…read moreand a summer musical. They have a great group of talented actors and actresses. Ronald Coats is one of the funniest actors they have. And Marion B sings amazing. The costumes are always authentic and the sets have great detail put into them. Every Halloween they put on Rocky Horror picture show. Christmas they do A Christmas Carol. The summer musical is usual great for kids. Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast were great. They do a variety of plays from dramas, comedy's, musicals and suspense. The theater does have a bar, so before the show and at intermission you can grab a drink. I enjoy my nights at the theater and will continue to be a member for a long time.

"I dreamed a dream in time gone by..." - ahhhh lyrics from one of my favorite musicals. Can you…read moreguess? Yup, "Les Miserables"! Playmakers helps build that foundation for those aspiring thespians. Whether your child has an interest in singing, acting or just loves entertaining people, Playmakers is perfect for them. My daughter took a poetry theatre class with them and was in a group of 4-7 year olds. It was perfect, too, because it was just the students and the teacher in the class (no parents could watch until the finale). It was nothing intense, but got them to memorize several nursery rhymes and perform them in front of the audience (parents & siblings). There was at least 10 kids in the class, so I was amazed to see all children perform in unison. For a teacher to be able take control and teach the kids in a short hour in only 8 weeks is made this worth it for us. The end result and seeing the children perform beautifully was fabulous! I hope she gets to take another class session or a camp with them soon. Check their website for seasonal class sessions that are broken up by age ranges.

A great place to introduce your children to theatre and cultivate their live for the arts!read more

Getting to go watch Monster Trucks run over things! Heck yeah! This is a fun event! It does get…read morereally loud, so make sure to put in ear plugs. Escpically the kids and babies. They start out by having all the trucks drive out one by one. Gravedigger is the fan favorite and has his own song! I liked the one that was a school bus! The first thing they do is race two against two to see who has the fastest time. They keep going till they get a winner. Then after that, the motor cross guys come out and race 4wheelers. Then the trucks do a donut event where they see who does the best donuts! My favorite event is the freestyle. Then bring out cars and ramps. The trucks ride around and do wheelies, crush the cars, do spins, and fly through the air. Sometimes they will flip over and land upside down. It's a really fun event to come watch and fun for the whole family!

I had high expectations for my five year old to love Monster Jam. Five minutes in, I knew I was…read morewrong. It seemed to be more entertaining for older kids, but the amount of action versus downtime was very lopsided. The trucks would only be in action for seconds between lots of filler of talking and loud music. The noise was okay because we remembered to bring ear plugs, but the smell of the exhaust fumes in an enclosed arena was a major turnoff. For $25 for good seats I guess it was a good deal if your kids were into it, but mine and my friends child both wanted leave before it was over.

The Baton Rouge Fire Guild is a group of local artists who meet to share their love of flow arts…read morewith the community. Their are several artists performing with led poi, staffs, levi-wands, and hoops, and many perform with fire! It's truly fun for all ages. On any given Friday there are numerous people who see all the lights and fire, and stop by and watch the show. The kids really enjoy it, too.

I love Disney. When I was a kid, they didn't have Disney on ice. So I was pretty excited to be able…read moreto go to this one! No matter where you sit, it's good seats. The props on the ice are pretty neat. I loved seeing all the different disney princesses come out onto the ice. They also had Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto. As well as Toy Story. It was a great show and I enjoyed myself!

This was absolutely amazing and some of the best ice skating I've ever seen! I loved all the…read moreoutfits and story line. Very pleased, a must see!

I just returned from another Baton Rouge business trip. I usAually like to stay downtown. The hotel…read moreselection is short but nice, there's some nice restaurant choices, and I appreciate leaving the car behind. And with each visit, I learn or experience something new. For this visit, that would be attending a performance of the Baton Rouge Symphony and admiring the Old Capital complex as I walked there and back again. The evening's performance included: - Handel: Zakok the Priest (Coronation Anthem #1) - Bottesini: Concerto, Double Bass, No. 2, B Minor - Brahms: Symphony No. 2. op. 73, D Major. Here were my thoughts (in no particular order) during the concert: 1. The old Charley Tuna Sunkist commercial - Having good taste for being here? 2. Hall is a little over half full and a lot of these folks are older than me! 3. Loved the Handel Chorus. Time to pull out the Messiah CD for the Holidays! 4, John Madere was "The Bomb" on the Contrabass during the Battesini piece. 5. Only got a little sleepy during Brahms. 6. You know, this is a really nice performance space! 7. Best seats are lower level - middle rows. 8. Conductor sure has some energetic gestures! 9. Entire concert (including intermission) lasted only 90 minutes or so. 10. A community treasure. I look forward to being in town sometime in the future for another BRSO performance.

This is a very talented group of musicians! I babysit for the son of two of the musicians, so I've…read morehad the chance to attend many of the different concerts! The master series showcases some pretty talented guest musicians. One i loved was Wicked Divas. Two women from broadway came and sang with the orchestra. They were amazing! Even Kristen Chenowith has sang with them. I got to see a very talented violinist come play with the orchestra and an amazing piano player. Christmas time has a lot to offer as well. Home for the Holidays is a great Christmas performance for the whole family. It features a selection of new and old Christmas songs. They also have the sleigh ride selfie. When they play sleigh ride, you take a selfie with the orchestra and sleigh in the background and post it to the BRSO page. My favorite Christmas performance is the brass playing at St. Joseph's Cathedral downtown. It's a beautiful church and the music is so pretty. At the end, the orchestra goes up by the majestic organ in the balcony and plays Hallelujah. It gives me chills every time. The orchestra also has a Christmas performance at Houmas House every year. Then how can you miss the Nutcracker, a Tale from the Bayou. It's a must see for me every year. Beautiful dancing and music! Then in the spring, the orchestra does symphony pops. I went to the one at Rural life museum and they played music from the movies. We sat under the stars and listened. The symphony is a great place to go!

This is a beautiful museum that also doubles as a concert venue…read more The rotating art installations that I've seen there are absolutely stunning. I really appreciate the emphasis on local artists. They do a wonderful job of curating experiences, and giving you a glimpse of the artist. I saw a great concert recently produced by local Cajun and Zydeco musicians I was absolutely blown away by those ladies! Later that month, I went to see some art by the renowned Leroy Evans. It was a stunning display of color, depth, detail, and emotion. Possibly one of my favorite painting exhibits ever. Take your kids, take a date or take a friend - you will have a lovely time.

Every second Saturday in downtown Lafayette there's an art walk. Vendors set up shop up and down…read morethe streets and in shops. I went recently and now this will be a regular Saturday night thing for me. It was so nice!! Acadiana Center for the Arts was offering free admission so I stopped in to escape the heat and check out the exhibits. Jeremy Young was the artist whose work stood out the most to me and I thoroughly enjoyed studying his paintings. I was just awed by the details that went into his paintings. The artists here change on a regular basis and I picked up the upcoming schedule so I'll know when to go see some new exhibits. Next time you're wandering around downtown Lafayette be sure to stop in here!

My daughter recently spent 2 weeks at Kids Orchestra camp that was hosted at one of the Baton Rouge…read moreprivate high schools. This camp was an extremely organized, well-planned, fabulously executed and enjoyable for many of the kiddos that attended. Even I wanted to attend the camp, since there was nothing like this, when I was a kid. I am huge fan of early childhood enrichment and keeping kids active in the summer rather than being plopped in front of the TV or eyes glued on mobile devices. The first session was focused on string instruments. Since, my daughter is already taking viola lessons, she was able to bring her viola and was given additional instruction. Plus, at the end of the week, they put on a showcase for the parents, which was a preview of what they had learned for the week. Camp price was $200 for the week and that included t-shirt, snacks, lunch, water bottle, bag, field trip and activities galore! For the second session, they focused on woodwind and brass instruments. Same structure as the first session, but different instruments. It was so cool to see kids perform drum circle and play percussion, too! They have a program for kids available during the school year, too. So, if your child attended summer camp, they are already classified as "a student", so they get priority enrollment for the school year. She definitely wants to do the camp again next summer and has even expressed interest in being part of kids orchestra during the school year. My husband and I were super impressed at how much they were able to teach the kids in just 1-week! Phenomenal, I tell ya! Baton Rouge offers so much for children in terms of enrichment activities, please take advantage of them! Your kids will thank you and you will pat yourself on the back to know that you have opened up additional interests for your little ones. Make sure you check out their website for all the information about their year-round enrollment and summer camps for 2017!

From the owner: Nonprofit afterschool music program for 800 K-5 grade students in East Baton Rouge Parishread more