Alan Smason
Juggles Numerous
Labors of Love
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHERYL GERBER
He is also a computer technician and
a certified network consultant. During
the Carnival Season, he is the narrator
for seven krewes’ balls. In addition, he
sits on the Big Easy Awards Theatre
Committee, as well as on the Opera &
Classical Music Committee for the Big
Easy Cultural Arts Awards, nominating
and selecting the winners in each of
those art forms’ various categories.
And, if all that wasn’t enough, he
manages to volunteer dozens of hours a
month to another one of his loves: Boy
Scouting, where he serves on many
levels.
How does he juggle so many things at one
time? “When do you sleep?” he is asked.
MAN
ABOUT
TOWN
“I don’t,” is the laughing response.
“Although, on a good night, I manage to
get about four hours,” he adds.
Twenty-hour days are the norm for this
busy man about town, who can be seen
at just about every major social, musical
or theatrical function New Orleans has
to offer and yet still finds time to take
his 85-year-old mother, Annette Smith
Smason, out to dinner several times a
week. For music-loving New Orleanians
whose memories stretch back more than
20 years, the two of them were fixtures
in the family-owned business, Smith’s
Records, on St. Charles Avenue that, at
its peak, boasted three locations.
So, how much does he enjoy all that he
By Dean M. Shapiro
In these fast-paced times,
multitasking has become
the new normal. No one
knows that better than Alan
Smason.
A theatre critic for the weekly
“Steppin’ Out” program on WYESChannel
12 for the past six years,
Alan is also the publisher/editor
of the weekly online Crescent
City Jewish News and an ongoing
“Theatre Criticism” website.
does? “If I didn’t enjoy what I do I’d be
very upset. Obviously, I love all aspects
of my life,” is the answer.
Among the things Alan enjoys most
in life are Mardi Gras, live theatre, and
music, and the signs all pointed that
way for him literally from birth. As he
explained, “My grandmother owned
a pharmacy at the corner of Jackson
Avenue and Prytania Street, a historic
location where the Krewe of Comus (the
first Mardi Gras krewe) was formed in
1857. I came home to that building from
Touro Infirmary when I was born.”
Continuing, he added, “I lived there
until I was about four or five and then
we moved to Broadway (in Uptown New
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