The Nicholls Players will bring one of Louisiana’s deadliest storms to the stage with Tant que durera la terre (As Long as the Earth Lasts), opening Oct. 9 in Talbot Theater. 

The group is the university’s long-running student theater troupe, made up of performers and crew members from across majors. They stage productions each semester under faculty and guest artist direction. 

Nicholls biology professor and playwright John Doucet wrote the play, which dramatizes the days before and after the 1893 Cheniere Caminada hurricane.

The infamous storm killed an estimated 2,000 people and destroyed entire coastal communities. 

“It’s a sweet family story with funny moments—until it isn’t,” director Anna Broussard said. “You’re following a teenage boy and his family, and through them you see what was lost when the storm hit. It’s powerful because it makes the disaster personal.” 

The production stars Charles Tenney as Camille and Alex Terrebonne as Frederique, among others, in a cast drawn from across the Nicholls campus. 

Nicholls and Jefferson Performing Arts Society in Westwego partnered to stage the show. Nicholls provides the cast and direction, while Jefferson Performing Arts supplies the set and lighting design. After its four-night run in Thibodaux, the play will move to Westwego. 

“This collaboration is helping us both,” Broussard said. “They don’t have to search for a cast, and I don’t have to create a set.” She added that the partnership offers an example of how small productions can support each other. 

Broussard said the story also connects to Louisiana’s current coastal challenges. She drew a parallel between the storm’s devastation in 1893 and the threats communities face today from coastal erosion. 

Doucet will present a pre-show lecture on Sunday, Oct. 12, on the hurricane’s history and cultural impact.

Tickets cost $10 for students and $25 for the general public. They are available online through the Nicholls Players’ website. 

The troupe will return in March with the comedy Arsenic and Old Lace.

For now, Broussard said she is focused on Tant que durera la terre. 

“My goal is that audiences leave with a deep emotional impact—because this history still matters,” she said. 

For more information on the cast, the play, upcoming shows, and tickets, visit: Nicholls Players