Director, Sara Edwards
It’s loud, layered, and raw. Let the Good Times Roll lets the soul of New Orleans take the stage.
Director and choreographer Sara Edwards joined us for a Director’s Download conversation about the making of this vibrant new musical. She shared how a cast of six, a courtyard bar, and a live onstage band all came together to tell a story that’s equal parts vibrant, heartfelt, and wild.
“It’s really a party. If I get it right as a director, people will be bouncing out of the aisles,” Edwards said.
Let the Good Times Roll is a one-act musical packed with songs that span nearly a century of New Orleans’ musical history. From the 1930s to today, the soundtrack is a time machine and a love letter to the city’s rhythm and resilience.
“This show is a giant jazz music celebration. There’s music from Fats Domino, Dr. John, Professor Longhair, Harry Connick Jr. and even artists people may not have heard of,” Edwards said. “Our music supervisor, Sonny Paladino, has orchestrated it so it sounds like today. It doesn’t sound like old jug band music, it feels like 2025.”
The music moves the story forward, but it’s the characters who carry its heart. Each of the six characters onstage represents a facet of the city.
There’s Maretha, a sharp-tongued bar owner who knows how to pray as hard as she parties. There’s Onyx, a character whose transformation will break you open. And then there’s Liza Jane, who is not from New Orleans, but her search for belonging becomes a reflection of our own.
Edwards describes the rehearsal room as a deeply collaborative space. Scenic designer Douglas Clarke worked closely with her to build a weathered, worn-in courtyard set where the music feels at home.
“The whole show takes place in a great New Orleans courtyard space. It’s colorful, it’s lived-in, and our band is onstage with us,” Edwards said.
Her Broadway experience helped shape her approach to this world premiere. Having worked on The Music Man and Hello, Dolly! with stars like Hugh Jackman and Bette Midler, Edwards knew how to take something classic and make it pulse with new energy.
“ My takeaway from those two experiences of working on revivals is how to make a revival feel like it’s something new. And because a lot of this music that we’re working with is older music, I spent a lot of time brainstorming. Trying to come up with ideas of how to make it feel new for a new audience,” Edwards said.
And while the show is packed with spectacle and sound, it’s the heart of the characters that lingers.
“It all comes back to the music and it all comes back to being together and sort of finding the family that you didn’t know you had,” she said.
When asked what she hopes audiences take away, she didn’t hesitate. For Edwards, the measure of success is what lingers after the show.
“People are going to leave and go home to their Spotify or Apple Music… and they’re going to reinvest in this kind of jazz music,” Edwards said. “And I know if Jack Viertel were here, he’d say he hopes people learn something about New Orleans that they didn’t know before they came.”
It’s safe to say, if you leave humming that’s a good sign.
That’s the sound of New Orleans staying with you.
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*Courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the U.S.
