That Old Black Magic Literary Elements

African play, retelling, noir

French

New York City, 1990s

The play follows the action of Shorty, an African-American boxer in his thirties who has made a deal with the devil to become a great boxer.

Psychological, dramatic, colloquial

Protagonist: Shorty, an African-American boxer in his thirties with a good heart but a short-term focus. Antagonist: Shadow, an African-American man in his forties who acts as Shorty's manager and seems to be an agent of the devil.

Shorty has entered into a contract with Shadow that states that Shadow will serve Shorty in this life, making him strong and unbeatable in the ring, but Shorty will serve Shadow in the next life. This "deal with the devil" is coming back to haunt Shorty, who tries to escape.

When Shorty confronts Shadow, Shadow tightens the reins and forces Shorty to continue fighting even past the point where he should stop. Shorty is forced to look beyond the world to find any sort of happiness or peace, and the play concludes with him shadowboxing again.

The deal Shadow makes with Shorty foreshadows Shadow's fulfillment of his part of the bargain, as well as Shorty's sealed fate that emerges at the end.

"There will be plenty of time to repay your debt." - Shadow (Scene 1)

Micky the reporter, when describing Shorty's style of boxing, alludes to many famous jazz musicians, including Billie Holiday, Charlie Parker, and John Coltrane, among others.

Kwahulé uses lots of imagery throughout the play that deals with jazz and musicality. Angie owns a jazz club and is a professional jazz singer, and the characters often discuss the music. Micky even describes Shorty's fighting style in terms of famous jazz musicians, comparing his legwork to Billie Holiday's voice, his jab to Monk's piano, his speed to Charlie Parker's saxophone, his fists to Dizzy Gillespie's horn, his joy to Lester Young's choruses, and his fierce combos to "a big band of ten thousand Coltranes."

After Shorty enters into the contract with Shadow, he believes that he will have a full, complete, and satisfying life. However, he finds himself unsatisfied by the fame and glory, paradoxically making it impossible for him to be happy for the rest of his life and afterlife even though he made the agreement specifically in order to become happy.

The agreement Shorty makes with Shadow directly parallels the agreement Faust makes with Mephistopheles in Goethe's "Faust." Faust is also directly referenced in the play, making this parallelism even more striking.

"Your voice alone saved me from the spectacle of decline." - Chuck (Scene 2)

Before the play begins, Kwahulé inserts an author's note: the jazz quartet does not have to play exactly what is written, but "it would be appropriate to stay within the Coltrane universe." These directions regarding the music are some of the only instructions he gives to the directors in the entire play.