Louisiana's Playground Podcast

Louisiana's Playground Podcast Louisiana’s Playground: a Visit Lake Charles podcast sharing local stories and hidden gems.🎧

09/14/2026

Rosa Hart started Lake Charles Little Theatre in the 1920s by arguing with a group of civic-minded women on a porch downtown. She had shows up within months.

Then she started writing letters to celebrities. Bette Davis. Charles Laughton. Vincent Price. They came to Lake Charles because she asked them to. Brett Downer says she was the kind of person who would “basically sn**ch people off the street and encourage them.” Bakers, butchers, everybody. The theater has never had a paid executive director in all 100 years. Entirely volunteer-run, and it started with Rosa Hart and a porch argument in the 1920s.

Have you ever visited the Rosa Hart Theatre?

▶️ Watch now on the Visit Lake Charles YouTube channel
🎧 Listen anywhere you stream audio podcasts
🔗 Learn more at visitlakecharles.org/podcast

09/13/2026

In 1986, a light board caught fire 30 minutes into a Lake Charles Little Theatre production.

The operator was up a spiral staircase. He ripped it out of the wall, ran down the stairs, and the quickest way out of the building was through the audience. He sprinted out the door holding it by the wires. The crowd applauded. They thought it was part of the show.

Heather Partin calls it the most Lake Charles Little Theatre thing that’s ever happened. Brett Downer adds context: every home the theater has had in 100 years has been destroyed by God’s elements. Fire, water, wind. “We have to have gallows humor about that.” The theater is turning 100 this year and they’re still standing. Episode 104 is out now.

▶️ Watch now on the Visit Lake Charles YouTube channel
🎧 Listen anywhere you stream audio podcasts
🔗 Learn more at visitlakecharles.org/podcast

09/12/2026

Brett Downer has been involved with Lake Charles Little Theatre for over 40 years. He still counts new faces at every single show.

New people on stage who’ve never performed before. New people in the audience he doesn’t recognize. “I love it when we do shows and I don’t know who those people were. And that’s a great thing.” Jillian heard this and immediately said it’s on her bucket list to be one of those new faces on stage. Heather’s response: “This is being recorded. You said it.”

The theater turns 100 this year. Have you ever been on a stage?

▶️ Watch now on the Visit Lake Charles YouTube channel
🎧 Listen anywhere you stream audio podcasts
🔗 Learn more at visitlakecharles.org/podcast

09/11/2026

Heather Partin has stood in the wings of a theater for nearly 40 years. The view never gets old.

“When you are standing in the wings and those lights go down and then all of a sudden it’s alive. There is nothing like that.” Brett Downer adds the reason it still matters in 2026: live theater gives you one shot to get it right. You can watch a movie and 12 million people saw the exact same thing, but the 100 people in the room with you are the only ones who ever saw that night happen. In an age of pre-taped, rehearsed, and AI-generated content, that’s still something worth protecting.

Lake Charles Little Theatre turns 100 this year. Episode 104 is out now.

▶️ Watch now on the Visit Lake Charles YouTube channel
🎧 Listen anywhere you stream audio podcasts
🔗 Learn more at visitlakecharles.org/podcast

09/10/2026

First-time audience members at Lake Charles Little Theatre always leave saying the same thing.

“I had no idea that people could sing like this and dance like this and act like this. And I forgot that was my plumber I was watching.” Heather Partin says she can’t believe they didn’t know.

Here’s why they should: Lake Charles is an EGOT area. Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony, and Pulitzer winners all have ties to this city. As Jillian puts it, the work coming out of this theater isn’t “great for Lake Charles.” It’s just great. The Little Theatre turns 100 this year and Episode 104 is out now.

Have you ever been to a Lake Charles Little Theatre show?

▶️ Watch now on the Visit Lake Charles YouTube channel
🎧 Listen anywhere you stream audio podcasts
🔗 Learn more at visitlakecharles.org/podcast

09/08/2026

Jillian couldn’t pick between breakfast and lunch at Pitt Grill in Lake Charles. She solved it.

Breakfast po’boy: thick po’boy bread, two scrambled eggs, American cheese, smoked sausage. It came with hash browns on the side. She put them inside the sandwich. “All handheld. I needed no cutlery.” Brady compared it to adding a fry to a cheeseburger. She stands by it completely.

Pitt Grill has been open since 1972. They’re right off Highway 210 near Prien Lake. Would you put hash browns on a breakfast sandwich?

▶️ Watch now on the Visit Lake Charles YouTube channel
🎧 Listen anywhere you stream audio podcasts
🔗 Learn more at visitlakecharles.org/podcast

09/08/2026

Jillian couldn't pick between breakfast and lunch at Pitt Grill in Lake Charles. She solved it.

Breakfast po'boy: thick po'boy bread, two scrambled eggs, American cheese, smoked sausage. It came with hash browns on the side. She put them inside the sandwich. "All handheld. I needed no cutlery." Brady compared it to adding a fry to a cheeseburger. She stands by it completely.

Pitt Grill has been open since 1972. They're right off I-210 on Prien Lake Rd.

Would you put hash browns on a breakfast sandwich?

09/07/2026

People think New Orleans and Southwest Louisiana are two different worlds. Robin Barnes disagrees.

“It’s the same culture. It’s literally the same food. It’s the same warmth. It’s the same people.” The Zydeco, the Cajun, the bounce, the New Orleans jazz and funk are all different genres, but as Robin says, once people start hearing that beat, everyone’s up and dancing. Brady put it best: a whole lot of culture in a little state.

Episode 103 is out now.

▶️ Watch now on the Visit Lake Charles YouTube channel
🎧 Listen anywhere you stream audio podcasts
🔗 Learn more at visitlakecharles.org/podcast

09/05/2026

Robin Barnes spent three years earning the right to make Louisiana Love before she recorded a single note.

She’s from New Orleans, stepping into Zydeco and Cajun genres that weren’t hers. She cold-contacted artists whose legacies she was trying to honor and asked them to trust her. All of them said yes. Her reasoning: “We’re going to be someone’s ancestor one day. And that’s a powerful thought.”

Episode 103 of Louisiana’s Playground Podcast is out now.

▶️ Watch now on the Visit Lake Charles YouTube channel
🎧 Listen anywhere you stream audio podcasts
🔗 Learn more at visitlakecharles.org/podcast

09/04/2026

Brady eats gumbo at least once a week. Pitt Grill in Lake Charles is one he keeps coming back to.

He calls it the crown jewel of the menu, something most first-time visitors overlook for the burgers and plate lunches. The gumbo runs mild, which Brady says is right where it should be. Add a little hot sauce and it’s exactly what he wants. Jillian calls him a gumbo critic. He doesn’t disagree. Gumbo Wednesdays are a real thing.

Pitt Grill has been open since 1972. They’re right off Highway 210, in front of the mall on Prien Lake Road. Have you been?

▶️ Watch now on the Visit Lake Charles YouTube channel
🎧 Listen anywhere you stream audio podcasts
🔗 Learn more at visitlakecharles.org/podcast

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Lake Charles, LA
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