Booty Candy by Robert O'Hara

First off, it has to be acknowledged that the little old ladies would, no doubt, get a kick out of saying the play's name when they call to make their reservations. However, I am not so sure that they would enjoy the show itself. Initially, I thought it struck a good balance between accessible and abrasive. The first handful of scenes read like a kind of David Ives-style take on black experience...but then it just keeps going. It gets darker, the humor dries up, and it goes on and on. There is an entire un-marriage scene which seems to serve no purpose but to give an identity to the previously-discussed child named “Genitalia” (and to bludgeon a single joke to death). At one point there is a break in the theatrical premise and the stage manager comes out and the actors talk about the play as a play and....really? I did that in a show in high school that was written by my high school drama teacher. The second act tries to create a more coherent story line out of the series of sketches, but it really just loses all subtly and humor in an effort to spell out the darkness that was already apparent in the first act. All in all, I vote “pass.”