"The French Quarter Connection" at Cité des Arts

In his new play, Mark Leonard pries into a long-mulled-over Louisiana conspiracy theory: Can you trace Kennedy's association back to the Quarter? In a fictional retelling of a "Kennedy-esque" assassination in the 1960s, with familiar characters, the performance delves into the personal and brutal conflicts that arose between a Robert F. Kennedy character and a fictional mob boss from the Quarter. Pulling tension from the real conflicts of the time, such as Irish-American culture versus Italian-American culture, Agro-American immigrants versus the Anglo military-industrial complex, and the "best and brightest" of the Vietnam War versus an international crime organization. The play opens at the Cité des Arts this month, with evening performances at 7:30  pm and two "Conspiracy Sunday" matinees at 2 pm, after which LSU professor Alecia P. Long will discuss her book Cruising for Conspirators: How a New Orleans DA Prosecuted the Kennedy Assassination as a Sex Crime. $35; $20 for students, with a military discount available. citedesarts.org.