Singer Nebu Nezey and her band kick off PASA’s new Pop-ups at Baranco Series with her sizzling show at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 18 in the Theater at Baranco Elementary, in Lafayette. A spectacular performer, Nebu Nezey belts out blues, R&B, jazz and more in a high-energy show that electrifies the stage wherever she performs. Tickets for all PASA events are available online at heymanncenter.com, at the Heymann Center box office and at the door.
With a diverse source of influences including Queen, Donny Hathaway, Whitney Houston, Wilson Phillips and SWV, Nezey’s vocal ability and artistry cover a wide spectrum of music. Nebu has been the go-to performer regionally and has been the opening act on headlining concerts for Ginuwine, Tank, Jon B, and Freddie Jackson. When she’s not onstage entertaining crowds, she is a vocal coach for students and young artists, as well as the choir director at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic church.
Her debut album NEBULA displays her vocal range and creativity that has captured many music lovers. 
There are about 400 seats in the Theater at Baranco, which was built in the 1940’s. The Theater at Baranco is located inside Baranco Elementary (formerly N.P. Moss Middle School), located at the intersection of Moss St. and Mudd Ave. in the Sterling Grove neighborhood. Parking is available on site. Because Baranco Elementary is a public school, the clear bag policy is in effect.
“We’re ready to usher in live entertainment to this relatively dormant venue that’s tucked away in one of Lafayette’s historic buildings,” says PASA Executive Director Jacqueline Lyle. “We’ve received generous sponsorship from the law firm of Oats & Marino and the members of 100 Black Men have stepped up to support these shows with their time and energy.”
"We have our eye on several theaters that make it possible to bring performances into neighborhoods that do not have live entertainment," continues Lyle. "These Pop-Ups at Baranco are taking great performers beyond the theaters that people know best and where people expect to attend a show. We certainly hope to entice music and theater lovers and that they'll join us on this journey."
The drama Otto Frank follows on the Pop-Ups at Baranco lineup on November 14. Anne Frank’s father Otto Frank was the only member of his immediate family to survive the Holocaust. Actor Roger Guenveur Smith performs this moving one-man show, portraying a father addressing his daughter beyond her time and his own, navigating his shattering loss.
Smith’s credits range from the small screen (A Different World) to the big screen (Malcolm X, Get on the Bus and more), working with directors Spike Lee, Stephen Soderberg and other marquee names. He’s quite a talent: he wrote, starred in and produced A Huey P. Newton Story, a one-man performance based on the life of Black Panther Party founder Huey P. Newton.
PASA heads back to Baranco on February 20, 2025 when Beausoleil’s front man Michael Doucet breaks out his fiddle and joins former Louisiana Poet Laureate John Warner Smith in this pair’s first-ever collaboration of music and the spoken word. PASA heads back to the Theater at Baranco for this Pop-up for a show that was dreamed up by PASA and its team of thinkers.
For more than fifty years, Michael Doucet has been a fixture on stages large and small and near and far. John Warner Smith has blazed trails through local government, the banking world, stretched his talents into poetry and writing, and is now the executive director of the Shadows-on-the-Teche in New Iberia, LA.
PASA is committed to an inclusive theater and community experience for all of its patrons. The Heymann Center and other venues are ADA compliant with accessible seating areas and a designated accessible entrance. Early seating is offered for those who need additional time to get to their seats and large print programs are also available at all performances. Patrons with disabilities who have additional accessibility requests or who are in need of additional information are encouraged to contact the PASA office at 337-769-3231 or email info@pasaonline.org.
About PASA: Performing Arts Serving Acadiana offers performing arts entertainment, focusing on dance, theater, and classical music, with occasional forays into other genres. PASA also delivers performing arts activities—master classes, workshops, lecture demonstrations and other offerings—in a variety of locations in the Acadiana area.
For more information about PASA or any of the performances, call PASA at (337) 769-3231 or email jackie@pasaonline.org.
PASA 2024-2025 Public Performance Dates:
October 18, 2024: Nebu Nezey. The Theater at Baranco Elementary. Corner of Moss St. & Mudd Ave.
November 14, 2024: Otto Frank. The Theater at Baranco Elementary. Corner of Moss St. & Mudd Ave.
January 29, 2025: Cleo Parker Robinson Dance & the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra
Heymann Performing Arts Center.
February 20, 2025: Michael Doucet & John Warner Smith. The Theater at Baranco Elementary. Corner of Moss St. & Mudd Ave.
March 14, 2025: Omnium Circus. Heymann Performing Arts Center
All performances begin at 7:30 p.m.
Macaroni Kid can make it super easy for you to find your family fun all year long. Receive a local calendar of family-friendly events each Thursday evening when you SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE!
You'll be glad you did ... and so will your kids!
For even more fun, find us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
