A classic and searing Nina Simone song from 1964 summed up the civil rights struggles in the Deep South pretty succinctly: “Alabama's got me so upset, Tennessee's made me lose my rest, and everybody knows about Mississippi, goddamn.” Local playwright Jonathan Norton riffs on Simone’s indictment of the state in an engrossing tale of strained, conflicted relationships between family, friends and neighbors during the changing social landscape of early 1960s Mississippi. The play culminates (as Simone’s song did) with the murder of Medgar Evers in 1963. Mississippi Goddamn is part of the Blackpain/Blackpower season presented by the South Dallas Cultural Center (3400 South Fitzhugh Ave.), and begins its run at 8 p.m Thursday. Performances continue through March 8, with shows at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and 3 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets are $5 to $15; visit dallasculture.org/sdculturalcenter for more information.
Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 3 p.m. Starts: Feb. 19. Continues through March 8, 2015