Gabrielle Geiselman Milone
Tickets are now on sale for our September Supper Club, "The Pontalba Experience."
Imagine it: an evening in the French Quarter—buskers jingling and trumpeting away on the corner, century-old buildings—each with a story to tell—stretching up into the sky above, the air scented with the pungent blend of the last night’s revelries and tonight’s suppers. You are greeted by a mythological fox with a devil in his eye, who welcomes you into the home of the Baroness Micaela Almonester Pontalba, your hostess. Oh, yes. Did we mention it’s 1834?
Last year, in their debut production of Look Don’t Tell, over the course of four nights Belles Fetes Productions transported eighty guests into a 19th century New Orleans night. It was an evening of elegant, creative cuisine prepared by Chef Melissa Araujo of Araujo Restaurant Group, accompanied by wine and cocktail pairings curated by sommelier Chelsea Gober, all amidst a surrealist, performative, and interactive storytelling of a fateful night in New Orleans’ history.
It was on the balcony of a friend’s Pontalba apartment, overlooking Jackson Square, that the concept first materialized for Jeanne Faget, the founder, director, and producer of Belles Fetes “[My friend] told me the story of the Baroness and her family,” said Faget. “The intensity and drama of their story inspired me, and they just have so much to do with what we know to be the heart of New Orleans.”
Inspired by the family’s history and by her experiences with Punchdrunk’s Sleep No More immersive theatre production in New York City, Faget sought to create a New Orleans version, incorporating all of the things she loves about her city—its history, its frivolity, its mysticism, art, and cuisine.
Look Don’t Tell will return for its second production series (for four nights only!) this November. However, guests to Country Roads’ September Supper Club will be privy to a special taste of Belles Fetes’ magic. In “The Pontalba Experience,” to be held at the Louisiana State Museum Cabildo on September 7, Faget’s performers will whisk our guests through an evening of circus, fantasy, and history—all alongside our trademark culinary experience, this time helmed by Chef Dickie Brennan himself.
It’s our biggest Supper Club yet, taking our commitment to crafting culturally experiential events to new heights, with total five-sense immersion into a world that—in all its fantasy and pleasure—is quintessentially, conspicuously New Orleans. We hope you’ll join us.
Tickets for Country Roads’ “The Pontalba Experience” Supper Club are on sale now at bontempstix.com. Spots are extremely limited for Belle Fetes’ November performances. Reserve your spot now at lookdonttell.com.
