Suddenly, it seems, there is a bumper crop of original theater. A glance at the listings shows no less than 11 works by local playwrights, a challenge to even the most ardent theatergoer. Seven of these shows were produced as part of the 15th annual Black Theater Festival at the Contemporary Art Center. Mirrors by Larry Platt and Djinn and Juice by T'shon Bryan.
Mirrors attempts to deal with complicated and tragic events faced by a New Orleans family.
And while it provides some moments of insight and poignancy, it suffers from the very grandness of its ambitions. Bishop is intent on seeking justice for the deaths of their father and a third brother, who was murdered by a drug gang. Djinn and Juice is an odd, imaginative and often entertaining play. All his life, people close to him have died horrible deaths, a fate from which he has been miraculously saved. Meanwhile, over at the University of New Orleans, Dr. Sex by Philip Zwerling received a polished production under the guidance of David Hoover.