By Laura McAlisterJournal EditorDon’t expect any sob stories from Gia Rabito. She may be a Hurricane Katrina evacuee, but for her the story of the storm has a happy ending.The New Orleans native has called Mountain Brook home for nearly five years. While she misses the Crescent City, she’s gained a new love for the Magic City, and she’s talking about it in her one-woman cabaret show, “Swept Away: From the Crescent City to the Magic City, the Misadventures and Relocation of a Katrina Evacuee.”The show opens Aug. 27 in the Martha Sykes Studio at the Virginia Samford Theatre, which also marks the five-year anniversary of the storm and Rabito’s evacuation from her hometown.“This show, for me, is really a huge thank you to Birmingham and all the people who helped me along the way,” said Rabito, executive director of the Alabama Ballet. “There’s also the comparisons. Birmingham and New Orleans are just delightfully different but equally charming.”In her one hour and a half show, Rabito discusses the two cities and her love for them both through amusing monologues and well-known songs like “Stormy Monday” and “Up on the Roof.” She’ll also sing one original number.And, since a story about New Orleans isn’t complete without a cocktail, tickets to the show come with a complimentary Hurricane, the city’s signature drink, served in a souvenir “geaux” cup.“You can’t take it on the street, though, like you do in New Orleans,” she joked.While Rabito’s roots run deep in New Orleans – she was a Mardi Gras queen and most of her family still lives in the city – she said it didn’t take her long to realize Birmingham was her new home. Rabito and her daughter fled New Orleans two days before the hurricane made landfall. They packed an overnight bag, thinking they’d be gone a few days at the most.“I just had a funny feeling that this was the big one,” she said. “We evacuated Saturday. We were one of the first ones out on the highway. I got right on I-10 and headed for Birmingham.”Since Rabito’s husband was already living and working in Birmingham, the city was the obvious choice for their evacuation.“We had planned on being one of those commuting couples until my daughter graduated,” she said.As they watched the devastation of Katrina unfold from a television in her husband’s corporate apartment, it became obvious they would not be returning to New Orleans anytime soon.“I felt like I owed New Orleans a quick decision,” she said. “Within six weeks, I knew I was going to stay in Birmingham. I wanted to return to work. I’d worked for non-profits, which that was going to be tough in New Orleans after Katrina.“I thought, maybe this is what I was supposed to do. I was literally ‘swept away.’ ”Rabito and her husband bought a house in Mountain Brook. The New Orleans native quickly found the two cities had some similarities but for the most part were dramatically different.In Birmingham, Rabito had to get used to hills and used her emergency brake for the first time. She also learned to hold back some of her thoughts and that a cocktail party doesn’t last “until.”“I just tell people now when I go to a party that ‘I’m from New Orleans, I’ll be the last one here,’ ” she said. “You just have to tell me to leave. In New Orleans, parties go from ‘7 until.’ We don’t have an end time.”Rabito does make frequent visits back to her hometown. As part of the show, she’ll also have pictures from her first visit back to New Orleans after Katrina. While her home was part of the “sliver on the river” that was untouched, signs of the storm literally were everywhere.“I’ll have a photo exhibit called ‘The Signs of Katrina,’ ” she said. “I went back to New Orleans to take pictures. My area was not devastated, so I didn’t see disaster, but there were just signs everywhere.”Some signs were desperate, like those posted by people searching for lost loved ones. Some were comical, like one on a taped-up refrigerator instructing people to mail their maggots to Tom Benson, who suggested moving the New Orleans Saints to Texas after Katrina.Others signs showed the strength and courage of the city with messages like “We love you New Orleans.”There will be three performances of “Swept Away.” The Aug. 27-28 shows begin at 8 p.m., and there will be a matinee show at 3 p.m. Aug. 29. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www.virginiasamfordtheatre.org or by calling 251-1228. Rabito said that, unlike many Katrina stories, this one is a happy one, as well as a salute to Birmingham.“At the end of the day, I’m extremely happy that I’ve been relocated, and that’s a credit to the people here,” she said. “When people leave the show, they’ll be happy. They’ll be smiling.”
