Ron OJ Parson Talks the Power and Relevance of ‘East Texas Hot Links’ in Exclusive Q&A

“East Texas Hot Links” actors Alfred H. Wilson, Kelvin Roston Jr., and Willie B. (Photo Credit: Michael Brosilow). The play “East Texas Hot Links” crackles with charm, urgency and fire, making it as relevant today as it was when it debuted in the early 1990s. Since Sept. 9, Court Theatre audiences have been treated to this Pulitzer-nominated thriller buoyed by ice-pick sharp dialogue that is humorous and revelatory. And just when you’re beguiled by its charms and quaint universe of characters, it seizes you in a chokehold.& “You’re laughing all through the play, and then all of a sudden you’re not,” said Ron OJ Parson, who first directed “East Texas Hot Links” 30 years ago and helms the new production at the Court Theatre in Hyde Park until Sunday (Sept. 29). The play possesses many of the same qualities that made August Wilson’s plays so indelible: plain-spoken dialogue that is poetry to the ear but propels the story forward while introducing us to each character.& Most of all, “East Texas” centers the lives of Black people in their haven, the Top O’ the Hill Cafe in the piney East Texas woods where Ku Klux Klansmen roam, and the prospect of...