Theatre News Wire

Court Theatre, under the leadership of Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre, is set to present East Texas Hot Links. Court kicks off the 2024/25 season with Eugene Lee's suspenseful and remarkable work of lyricism, directed by Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson. This production will run September 6 - September 29, 2024 at Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.

East Texas Hot Links at Court Theatre in Chicago

Nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, East Texas Hot Links is simultaneously a gripping character study, a lyrical masterpiece, and a juggernaut of suspense. It is 1955 in the piney woods of East Texas and racial tensions are high, yet the Top O' the Hill Cafe remains a haven. There, regulars share stories, joke, unwind, and trade friendly barbs. The cafe is a refuge that keeps the outside world at bay, until a mysterious omen forces the outside in.

Court's 2024/25 season opener is a tribute to Resident Artist and Director Ron OJ Parson's (Two Trains Running) first production in Chicago, his deep collaboration with playwright Eugene Lee, and the founding of Onyx Theatre Ensemble, the storied theatre company that first produced East Texas Hot Links in Chicago thirty years ago. By returning to Top O' the Hill Cafe decades later, Parson asserts East Texas's place in the modern theatrical canon and honors the legacy of Onyx.

"East Texas Hot Links was my inaugural production in Chicago upon my arrival from the Big Apple," shares Director and Resident Artist Ron OJ Parson. "It was also the first production of Onyx Theatre Ensemble, co-founded by myself and actor Alfred H. Wilson in 1994. Even though 30 years have passed since that Onyx production, this play has everlasting relevance. Filled with love, humor, passion, and suspense - with the rhythm, timing, and lyricism reminiscent of the poetry of August Wilson - East Texas Hot Links will have you on the edge of your seat."

Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre shares, "We could not be prouder for Ron to open the 2024/25 season with East Texas Hot Links. This play first resonated with him as a young artist with Onyx Theatre Ensemble, when he was building a creative home. Thirty years later, he's since established that home at Court and gone on to become one of the most celebrated directors in the city. That richness of experience is unmatched, and the chance to return to East Texas thirty years later - to see it with new eyes - is particularly special. We can't wait to share this homecoming with our audiences."

The cast of East Texas Hot Links includes Willie B. (Adolph); David Dowd (Delmus Green); Juwan Lockett (XL Dancer); Kelvin Roston Jr. (Roy Moore); A.C. Smith (Boochie Reed); Geno Walker (Buckshot); AnJi White (Charlesetta Simpkins); and Alfred H. Wilson (Columbus Frye).

The creative team includes Jack Magaw (scenic design); Christine Pascual and Janice Pytel (costume design); Jason Lynch (lighting design); Andre Pleuss (sound design); Kamesha Khan (production dramaturg); Becca McCracken (casting director); Jaclynn Joslin (production stage manager); and Kate Ocker (assistant stage manager).