“Oh Lord! Mama Done Burnt the Biscuits” is a comedy that satirizes the African-American paradigm in theater. Written and directed by Nipsey Green, with original music by Yons Jackson, the play is set in Louisville in the early ’90s. Following the format established by Black sitcoms in the ’90s, the play draws on both the themes and the visual designs of the time to make commentary on (among other things) stereotypes of Black family structures and domestic life found so often in American entertainment media.
Mama Fishfry is a single mother of two — Latiqua, a sophomore in college, and Rashad, a high school senior — who finds joy in simple things, like baking her famous biscuits. Raising her family in the ghettos of the American south, Mama Fishfry is supported by her mother, Hattie May, who insists that her daughter face her past indiscretions. Mama Fishfry does whatever she feels she has to do to keep her children from becoming like their gangsta father Bishop — who was incarcerated after being falsely accused of drug possession. But no matter how many biscuits she makes, Mama Fishfry learns that no one can truly escape their past.
This performance is a part of the Kentucky Performing Arts ArtsReach MeX Project. This project was started as a platform for artists and organizations from historically underrepresented communities by providing underwritten opportunities to produce work for the stage at The Kentucky Center’s Boyd Martin Experimental Theater.
Oh Lord! Mamma Done Burnt the Biscuits
The Kentucky Center
MeX Theater
501 W. Main St.
Thursday, May 16–Saturday, May 18
7:30 p.m.
Sunday, May 19
5:30 p.m.
Recommended for ages 16 and older
This article appears in Apr 24 – May 7, 2024.
