Lou Ana Theater

The Lou Ana Theater was an African American movie house in Opelousas that also was a meeting place for NAACP meetings and other local events in its existence through 1963. The Southern Amusement Circuit, operators of the Opelousas' Delta Theater and Rex Theater, launched it as the Opou Theater for African American audiences.

The theater was north of downtown between two residential houses but situated in an area that had retail businesses that targeted African American patrons. At that time just prior to World War II, more than 40% of Opelousas’ population consisted of non-White residents. Despite that, the Opou Theater was a post-War casualty leaving the next closest African American exclusive cinema some 20 miles away with the K&M Theatre in Eunice (not in the database). The Opou Theater would soon get another chance under a new working name.

Louis D. “L.D” / ”To-To” Guidry had launched the Post-War, Rose Theatre locally in February of 1947. To openly attract more diverse audiences, the competing Lou Anna Theatre was quickly placed in the Hargroder Building at 1221 N. Court Street launching May 21, 1947. Playing what were called race films, business gravitation caused by the Anna was such that Guidry took notice. He would re-light the former Opou Theater as an African American exclusive movie theater.

Guidry changed the name of the movie house from the Opou Theater to the Lou-Ana Theatre launching on February 15, 1948 with Lon Cheney in “House of Frankenstein”. The name appears to be a tip of the cap to the factory located about a half mile away that produced the Lou Ana product line of cottonseed cooking oil and shortening which had opened in 1938. It also folded in the Market Street’s “Anna” moniker to some degree - though it had folded within a year .

Never good historically, race relations in town took a turn for the worse with the high profile electric chair deaths of convicted murderers Joseph and Matthew “Mack” Cook. For the May 20, 1948 executions of the brothers, the town moved the event to a larger public venue attended by more than 300 deliriously cheering attendees. Reaction from the local African American community and beyond ranged from disbelief to shock. According to reports, discussions of race relations led to low profile boycotts of businesses until changes were made by those retailers - including its theaters.

To-To Guidry would add a drive-in theatre to his portfolio in 1950 before selling out his theater interests one by one not long before his passing in 1952. The Lou-Ana Theater was sold on May 9, 1951 to Lee Boudreaux. This change of ownership was not well received by the patrons of the theater. It became one of the low profile boycotts which apparently extended to the other local theaters. That action proved successful as on October 3, 1951, a group of African American leaders lead by Dr. A.C. Terrence and Borel Dauphin took on the venue making it African American-owned and - with C. Cap Lewis was among its managers - operated.

Under Dauphin’s Marigold Entertainment Corporation, the theatre not only programmed films - including more rarely booked race films - it also held community meetings and events including dance contests. Regular NAACP meetings drew large crowds from the early-1950’s to the 1960’s. In the 1960’s, Marigold subleased the theater to Fred Williams. On August 21, 1963, fire started at the rear of the wood-frame Lou Ana Theater structure that completely destroyed the venue. The vacant lot housing the former theater was offered for at least the next three years.

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