  Isn't 7-11 the place where you get your soda, your gum and your paper?
Well, it is, but it's also the name of an innovative theater, which is produced annually by Desipina & Company, the New York based theater group. It features 7 stories, each 11 minutes -- all set in a 7-11 convenience store. What's it called? 7-11 Convenience Theater, of course. According to producing director Rohi Mirza Pandya, Desipina, which is celebrating its fifth year, was started to ensure meaningful roles for Asians and also create strong roles for women.
If Asians working at 7-11s is a stereotype, this show is all out to break them. Each of the plays takes place in a 7-11 store, but never the same one, as juxtaposed sets create different locations, different cities and very different stories. A talented multi-cultural cast of seven transform themselves into very different people. There's "Bombay Screams," a musical spoof on "Bombay Dreams"; "The Old New World" is a hilarious take on the rising India-China competition; In "Who Killed Mr. Naidu?" a musical whodunnit, you meet Professor Pappadum, Ms. Lychee Martini, Mrs. Lotus Leaf and Inspector Shankar Ladoo Prasad -- and you learn which of these customers killed the store owner Mr. Naidu through the witty lyrics.
All in all, if the doctor ordered 77 minutes of laughter, the 7-11 is where you have to go. | 
