Court Theatre series takes audiences on a tour through 100 years of Black theater

When Ron “OJ” Parson thinks about the past century of Black arts, he can’t help but zero in on one genre: theater. The resident artist of the University of Chicago’s Court Theatre, Parson had an idea about a decade ago alongside his friend, the Chicago-based director Chuck Smith. Both Parson and Smith have a reputation for being former collaborators of the legendary playwright August Wilson. Parson is on the cusp of directing all 10 plays of Wilson’s famed “American Century Cycle,” a set of 10…