Based on real events, this play dramatizes the racial tensions and political conflicts in Birmingham, Alabama, following a police shooting in 1979. The author uses the fall-out to examine civil rights, race relations, the role of the media in such conflicts, and the difficulty municipal governments have in balancing law enforcement and community justice concerns. If all that sounds academic, it isn’t--Mayor Todd crackles with suspense as its well-developed characters spotlight the human themes at the core of the play.
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