Welcome to Le Chat Noir, New Orleans premier venue for theater, cabaret and other live entertainment.
About Le Chat Noir
Since 1999, Le Chat Noir has been considered New Orleans most intimate night spot and the premier venue for musical theatre, comedy and satire, cabaret shows and other types of live entertainment...
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Much of what we present is original work. We have a popular Cabaret Room that features candle-lit table seating to view live shows five to seven nights a week, 50 weeks a year. The Room seats 125 and reservations for any show can be made by calling 504-581-5812 or online (see a show page for that option.) A separate Bar Noir features premium brands of liquor, signature cocktails, nice little wines, interesting beers and attracts an eclectic theatre crowd. Bar Noir opens one hour before curtain on all show nights. Le Chat Noir is located at 715 St. Charles Avenue in the historic Warehouse/Arts District of downtown New Orleans. So, come in and introduce yourself. We always enjoy getting to know new people and introducing you to the wonderful array of performing artists that calls New Orleans home.
Le Chat Noir is six blocks from the French Quarter, four blocks from the Convention Center, one block from the Julia Street art galleries, and a short walk from many fine restaurants. You easily can reach us by cab; we are also on the St. Charles streetcar line (get off at Girod Street). Parking is generally readily available either curbside (free after 6pm), or in a next door lot (currently $2 for Le Chat Noir clientele, pay inside venue).
We accept cash, Visa, MasterCard and American Express cards. We accept traveler’s checks, but not personal checks. Ticket prices generally range from $15 to $45 dollars and usually the price of a show ticket includes credit toward bar purchases. We recommend reservations be made in advance by calling 504-581-5812 or by emailing: tickets@cabaretlechatnoir.com. All seating is table seating and is assigned on a ‘first call, best seats’ basis. We will ask for a credit card number when you make the reservation; this is considered a guarantee toward a reserved table to see the requested show. Your card will be charged on the day of the show, unless you cancel before that. Show tickets are issued to you when you arrive for the performance, not in advance.
The Bar Noir serves a variety of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages both in the bar and during shows. Younger customers are welcome (with parents if under 14), but are expected to adhere to rules of conduct common to all live performance spaces. The legal drinking age in Louisiana is 21 years. As with all live theatre written for adults, some shows are more appropriate to children than others, so be sure to ask.
Smoking is allowed in the Bar Noir, but not in the Cabaret Room.
Whew. . .this is the basics, but if you have any other questions, just contact us. Thanks!
Meet Our Staff
Le Chat Noir is run by an interesting, if compact team of characters.
Check some of us out below.
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 Barbara Motley (Proprietor and Artistic Director)
In June 1999, Barbara, (who grew up in Texas), and husband Biff (a Whitney Banker from the Midwest) originated the concept of Le Chat Noir and renovated the building that now houses it. An 18 year resident of New Orleans, Barbara’s corporate resume includes management jobs in Houston/Dallas/Chicago/New Orleans. Running a cabaret theater is admittedly a second career. She uses her business experience and depends upon a top notch staff for day to day operations. Her programming choices rely upon lots of good advice from talented professionals and patrons from the local theater and music scene, and extraordinary support from the national community of cabaret performers and agents. She hopes this is her last job!
Little Known Fact:
Barbara has been know to drive over 250 yards down a fairway. . . and then four putts . She also had a five year run as Anna in The King and I in English, Texas, with a cast of cousins and an audience of family members.
“If you were a drink…”
She’d be a genuine pink champagne cocktail in a goblet champagne stem. Or, a single malt scotch, neat. Keeps ‘em guessing.
 Su Gonczy (Stage Operations Manager)
Su is basically a native of New Orleans considering she moved here from California 25 years ago! Before coming to New Orleans Su had many other lives including one in radio. After discovering show biz and the Moulin Rouge, she worked for years with Ricky Graham and Becky Allen doing their tech, costumes, wigs and harmonies. That led to a stints as Wig Designer ( Where the Girls Were ) and Costumer (favorite two shows to costume: The 3 Penny Opera at Le Petit and Greater Tuna, everywhere!) Her work as Stage Manager for the producing group All Kinds Of Theatre led her to Barbara Motley’s doorstep and Su’s been on board at Le Chat since it’s opening in 1999.
Little Known Fact:
Su’s voice work can all be traced back to the 7th grade where she recited Sink the Bismark for a history class project.
“If you were a drink…”
She’d simply be something black, in a tall glass.
 Victoria Hoffman (Bar Noir Manager)
Victoria is our Head Server.
Victoria has been keeping cutomers’ glasses full in the Cabaret Room since 2004. Born in Londenderry in Northern Ireland, she grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. She has worked in other New Orleans nightspots, moving around a bit over the last 13 years, including working at Postrio in San Francisco just before joining the Le Chat Noir team. She was promoted to co-manager for the Bar Noir in 2006, where she deftly continues to coach the service staff on the art of walking through the Room during a performance without ever actually being seen! She also takes over as bartender from time to time.
Little Know Fact:
Victoria is likely the only international artist on staff. She went to pre-school in Naples, Italy and during this point in her career landed the part of American Girl in the Costumes of the World Pageant. So far as we know, she is the only actress to play this role.
If she were a drink. . .
Victoria would definitely be a shaken, never stirred vodka martini. . . .up.
Chat Noir: Paris 1881 -- New Orleans 1999
People often ask us ‘What exactly is cabaret?’ Cabaret emerged from the Montmartre section of Paris at the end of the nineteenth century. “It began… on November 18, 1881, the year in which the first and most famous cabaret of all, the Chat Noir (Black Cat), was established…
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Paris… was the cultural capital of Europe, the mecca of the arts to which admirers and young hopefuls flocked from one end of Europe to the other…” (From Harold Segal’s book, Turn-of-the-Century Cabaret) The first Chat Noir was home to artists of all types, philosophers and bohemians. As other similar spaces sprang up across Europe, cabaret artists created what came to be called small art, impromptu performances that promoted free thinking, originality, satire and opposition to bureaucracy and the bourgeoisie. They converted small cafes late at night into informal, lively, intimate spaces known for fun-loving evenings of art and free flowing libations with friends and colleagues. These artists lived the song lyrics “What’s the use sitting alone in your room? Come to the Cabaret!” While modern day Cabarets spaces exist mostly in New York City and feature shows dedicated to the wonderful Great American Songbook of past and present Broadway, New Orleans Le Chat Noir is more closely aligned with the original sensibilities of its Parisian namesake.
At Le Chat Noir, we encourage the unique pleasures of small-art; support originality; celebrate the performers who provide us with entertainment, laughter and music; embrace thought provoking dialogue and ideas; and welcome all points of view. We still love The Great American Songbook, and often host New York cabaret luminaries to dazzle us with this new style of American cabaret. But our claim to fame, our true passion, is as the only theatre committed to authentic cabaret while presenting work of talented writers, actors, directors and designers of New Orleans. So, indeed, what is the use sitting alone in your room when you can join us at Le Chat Noir tonight! In here, life is beautiful.
715 St. Charles
Le Chat Noir is located in a historic district of New Orleans. Our early twentieth century building was extensively renovated in 1998 and 1999 to accommodate the needs of a theatre…
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At the front door, you will see our Black Cat logo embedded in our threshold. This recessed entryway was restored to its original design, which was likely for a retail store. Inside, the original mosaic tile floors were repaired and a tin ceiling was added to the entry way, a nod to the damaged tin that had to be taken down during renovations. The substantial oak bar and hanging shelving were designed and built to fit the Bar Noir.
In order to create the desired environment in the Cabaret Room, the roof was taken down, and all structural beams were removed to assure optimum sightline to the stage. The best in sound and light equipment was installed, based on the advice of New Orleans theater technicians and New York cabaret techs. Great care was taken to assure both excellent acoustics and adequate sound containment, necessary to be a good neighbor in a mixed residential/commercial area. The Room was designed and furnished with the goal of showcasing the performers on stage, and assuring the comfort of their audience.
We decided to use the vintage Chat Noir image made famous by Henri Toulouse- Lautrec for our outdoor sign. It seemed a fitting tribute to merge the symbols of our past and present right at the front door.
The Red Wall of Fame
Many people are curious about the wall of photographs in our entryway. These are the faces of many of the performers who have graced our stage…
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Most are local. Many are from New York, Los Angeles and other cities where cabaret thrives. Some are singers, some are comedians or actors, others are jazz artists. The articles framed along the columns represent a few of the many published reviews and stories about shows and people who have been a part of Le Chat Noir over the years. These walls grow. . .leave time in your schedule to peruse them.
Bragging Rights
Le Chat Noir first opened for business in June, 1999, and then was the first theatre to reopen in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, Le Chat Noir was named the Best Theatre Venue by the Gambit Weekly Readers’ Survey…
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We proudly add this tag to our selections over the years as Best Place to See Comedy (Gambit), Best Performing Arts Venue (CitySearch), Best Theater (three years running, Storer Boone Awards), Editors Choice for Bars and Clubs (Best of New Orleans) While many award processes were interrupted for 2005, Le Chat Noir shows grabbed four Storer Boone Awards and two Ambie Awards for work produced that year, and presented in 2006, a trend that repeated in 2007. These were added to our winners list of theatre awards, which now consists of a growing array of shows, directors, actors and designers who have entertained audiences since our opening in June, 1999.
Zagats regularly lists Le Chat Noir as a top nightlife venue, and the cabaret has been featured in articles in The New York Times, New York Post, In-Style Magazine, USA Today and American Airlines In Flight Magazine. Locally, we have been recognized with special awards from the Chamber of Commerce (2002 Emerging Business of the Year); Gambit Weekly (2004 Business Recognition Award), New Orleans Magazine (1999 People to Watch and 2008 Women of Achievement), City Business Magazine (2000 Women of the Year), Arts Council of New Orleans (2007 Community Arts Award) and Forum For Equality (Arts and Entertainment Recognition Award 2007). Our shows and personnel have been featured on the covers of The Times Picayune (which labeled 2002 “The Year of Le Chat”), Gambit, Best of New Orleans, BIZ Magazine, New Orleans Magazine and Prime Magazine.
Le Chat Noir’s regular local performers with original shows include Ricky Graham, Jeff Roberson (AKA Varla Jean Merman), Running With Scissors, All Kinds of Theatre, Jamie Wax, Amy Alvarez and Jefferson Turner, Brian Peterson and Anthony Sears, Shine Productions and the New Orleans BINGO! Show.
Le Chat Noir has introduced New Orleans to cabaret greats Karen Akers, Andrea Marcovicci, Amanda McBroom, Karen Mason, Billy Stritch, Donna McKechnie, Anna Bergman, Tommy Tune, Jason Grae, Liz Callaway, Sharon McNight and newcomer Shawn Ryan.
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