By Mary Richardson

In many ways, the upcoming McNeese Banners Series will feel like a homecoming. Many of the favorite genres from past seasons will again be front and center.

“We’re reviving stand-up comedy after a long hiatus,” said Brook Hanemann, director of the Banners Series, “and I couldn’t be more thrilled.”

National comedian Tom Briscoe is bringing a show that Hanemann promises will be “multi-generational, delightfully non-political, and refreshingly non-offensive. We are just going to sit down and laugh together.”

Dance will also be back, with two entirely different companies. The Lake Area Ballet Theater will perform numbers from “Swan Lake” and “Peter and the Wolf.”

“It will be a glorious celebration of local talent,” Hanemann said. Then a New York-based company will perform “Ballets with a Twist,” with its spirited, cocktail-themed choreography. “They blend elegance with a touch of fun,” Hanemann said, “and what better way to complement our annual food and wine fundraiser, Rouge et Blanc, than with a performance inspired by champagne and Bloody Marys?”

Music is always a mainstay of the Banners Series, and this season will feature a band that has been the culmination of five years of work — Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

“It’s been a personal mission of mine for five years to land the phenomenal Big Bad Voodoo Daddy band,” Hanemann said, “and this is the year!”

The Banners Series is latching on to two international companies as they travel to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Both a Ukrainian theatrical band, Yagody, and the spirited Irish Bluegrass band, JigJam, will make a stop at Bulber Auditorium before traveling to New Orleans. And the iconic rock band, Zebra, has chosen Bulber Auditorium as the venue to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Hanemann is proud to point to one aspect of the series sets Banners that sets it apart from other arts and humanities series – and that is the educational opportunities and community outreach that occur year-round in our schools and assisted living facilities. This season’s performance by Ballets with a Twist exemplifies the commitment to the community, as the professional dancers will lead a master class for local ballet students. Then our Lake Charles dancers will join Ballets with a Twist on stage, accompanied by members of the South Beauregard High School Band, directed by former McNeese student Jeremy Boudreaux.

“We take this kind of outreach very seriously,” Hanemann said. “McNeese State University enriches our community by educating future leaders, and Banners extends that mission by educating through the arts. We bring performers from around the world to Lake Charles, offering unique opportunities for our local artists and students to learn from, and collaborate with, these incredible talents.

“Our goal,” she said, “is to be a cultural cornerstone in Southwest Louisiana.”

The 2025 season will include the following events:

BIG BAD VOODOO DADDY, March 8, 7 p.m. F.G. Bulber Auditorium, $20, free to McNeese and Sowela students with ID.

For 32 years, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy has celebrated and revitalized jazz and swing music. The group has appeared in concert venues across the world, and venues in the United States range from Hollywood Bowl to the Lincoln Center. Television appearances include “Dancing with the Stars” and Superbowl XXXIII.

“These swing revival legends will kick off our season with an unforgettable show that’s guaranteed to bring down the house,” Hanemann said.

THE TOM BRISCOE COMEDY SHOW, March 14, 7 p.m. F.G. Bulber Auditorium, $20, free to McNeese and Sowela students with ID.

Tom Brisco performs for Dry Bar Comedy, which is dedicated to providing funny-for-everyone stand-up shows. His latest album, listed in the Top 10, has been viewed more than 2.5 million times. His latest solo show, “Old Mansplaining,” includes slants and rants on bad jobs, good marriage, travel mishaps, raising daughters, empty nesting, ungracefully aging, unsolicited advice, and living each day as a cautionary tale.

ZEBRA, March 15, 7 p.m. F.G. Bulber Auditorium, $20, free to McNeese and Sowela students with ID.

Zebra rocks out with its original lineup of Randy Johnson, Felix Hanemann and Guy Gelso — icons who have been blending the raw power of hard rock with the intricate artistry of progressive melodies. Hanemann said they are “a reunion of rock royalty,” and she is thrilled that the band will be celebrating its 50th anniversary on the McNeese campus.

SWAN LAKE AND PETER AND THE WOLF, Lake Area Ballet Theatre, March 20, 7 p.m. Rosa Hart Theatre, 900 Lakeshore Drive, $20, free to McNeese and Sowela students with ID.

The mission of LABT is to delight audiences with works that challenge its dancers. It is led by Colleen Cannon Benoit, who established the Lake Charles Dance Academy in 2011 after many years of teaching, performing and training in classical ballet. She said dance is a form of storytelling, and the excerpts from these two productions will showcase how movement can tell a narrative and engage the audience in unique ways.

“A DAY IN COLONIAL HAITI IN THE AGE OF RUNAWAYS, REVOLUTIONARIES, AND EXECUTIONERS,” March 25, 6 p.m., Hardtner Hall’s Stokes Auditorium.

Live story-telling by actors will portray real people in the 18th century, as documented through the book written by Dr. Phillipe Girard. All of these people were present on Easter Sunday, 1785, in Saint Domingue, Haiti — then one of the richest cities in the Americas. Actors will bring several people from the book to life, with some images projected to enhance the experience. People are encouraged to order a copy of the book online and get it signed at the event.

NATIONAL WORKS ON PAPER exhibition opening, March 27, 6 p.m. Grand Gallery, Shearman Fine Arts Center, 4205 Ryan St., free.

The 38th annual McNeese National Works on Paper Exhibition will run from March 20 through May 2. A reception honoring the exhibit will begin at 6 p.m. and a Juror’s Talk and Awards will be presented at 7 p.m. Submissions have been submitted from all 50 states for this prestigious competition.

A BLESSING NOT A BURDEN, a reading by Dr. Alex Kor, April 3, 6 p.m., Historic City Hall, free. Join Kor for a discussion, book signing, and reception. This book personalizes one of the most horrific periods in human history, the Holocaust of WWII, during which Dr. Kor’s parents narrowly escaped death. His mother, Eva Kor, and her sister Miriam were subjected to experiments by the notorious Dr. Joseph Mengele, “The Angel of Death,” in his research on twins at Nazi camps. These human experiments killed most of the subjects.

Eva Kor gave a lecture at McNeese in 2016. For this program, Dr. Kor will describe his own life’s journey, including a fight with cancer in his 20s and his present-day mission of carrying on his parents’ inspiring legacy. The event is free to attend. People who purchase a VIP ticket at www.Banners.org will receive a signed hardback copy of the book at the event (or it can be picked up anytime at the Banners office on campus).

THE STATE OF THE ATTAKAPA ISHAK NATION, a talk by Maaliyah Papillion, April 8, 6 p.m. Riverside Park, 1701 Fizenreiter Road, free.

Papillion will answer questions such as: Who were the first people in our region? Are there any descendants? Was there a written language? Are records adequate or is technology sufficient to recreate the spoken language? What has been done to document the past, and how is that effort moving forward in the present? She will address the role of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the federal government regarding what she terms “historical injustices, orchestrated by the government.”

SANABRIA QUARTETO ACHE, April 10, 7 p.m. F.G. Bulber Auditorium, $20, free to McNeese and Sowela students with ID.

This is the second time that seven-time Grammy nominee Bobby Sanabria — drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, conductor, filmmaker, and passionate champion for Afro- Cuban music — will perform for the Banners Series. He will also give a master class to jazz students at McNeese.

YAGODY, April 24, 7 p.m. F.G. Bulber Auditorium, $20, free to McNeese and Sowela students with ID.

This Ukrainian theater and music group, classified as “ethno-drama,” is one of two companies that Banners was able to attract to Lake Charles while traveling to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The group describes its music as “like the ritual of initiation, like the wind wandering through fields. It is the call of the wild tribes, the voice of your ancestors… a living energy… voices that are dancing. Your blood whispers like this.”

JIGJAM, April 25, 7 p.m. F.G. Bulber Auditorium, $20, free to McNeese and Sowela students with ID.

This group, the second that will perform in Lake Charles on the way to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, combines Irish music with bluegrass and American folk. Band members, all Offaly- and Tipperary-born, describe themselves as “what happens when virtuoso Irish playing jumps the pond, and runs naked through the wide-open fields of bluegrass and Americana.” JigJam debuted at the Grand Ole Opry in 2023, and received a standing ovation from the sold-out crowd on country music’s most renowned stage.

THE MCLEOD LECTURE SERIES, April 29, 7 p.m. Tritico Theatre, 4205 Ryan St, McNeese campus. Free.

This lecture series will continue its tradition of bringing together a panel for a timely, historically informed, political discussion.

COCKTAIL HOUR, A Ballet with a Twist, May 1, 7 p.m., Rosa Hart Theatre, Lake Charles Event Center, $20, free to McNeese and Sowela students with ID.

This New York-based group will perform cocktail-themed vignettes that are both glamorous and exciting. “What better way to complement our annual food and wine fundraiser, Rouge et Blanc, than with a performance inspired by Bloody Marys and champagne,” Hanemann said.

How to buy tickets

Tickets can be purchased through a membership to the entire McNeese Banners Series, or individually at the door. Memberships will be available at the opening reception, which is open to all, at 6 p.m at the Historic City Hall, 1001 Ryan St. In addition to enjoying music by Sean Hager and food prepared by the staff at The Verandah, people can purchase season membership packages that range from one ticket to all events for $80 to an “All Access” membership that includes three tickets to everything plus two tickets to the food and wine event, Rouge et Blanc, held in the fall.

Tickets to individual events, usually $20, will be available at the door, and online at www.banners.org. Students at McNeese and Sowela will be admitted free to all events with ID.

Banners sponsor Reed Mendelson Jr. will give away full-season memberships to first responders, educators, active military and seniors 80 years and older.”