October 7, 2015

Wayne State theatre and dance department to present The Detroit Projects

The Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance will present staged readings of Dominique Morisseau’s The Detroit Projects, a three-play cycle recounting the black experience

The Maggie Allesee Department of Theatre and Dance will present staged readings of Dominique Morisseau’s The Detroit Projects, a three-play cycle recounting the black experience at three pivotal moments in the city’s history.

The readings, directed by WSU’s Black Theatre Program Director Billicia Hines, will take place at 7 p.m. Oct. 13-15, at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. All performances are free and open to the public.

October 13

Paradise Blue sets the scene in 1949 in Detroit’s Paradise Valley. Blue, an exceptional trumpeter, contemplates selling his once-vibrant club to rid himself of conflicts from his past. The play received its world premiere this past summer at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and is a recipient of the Edgerton Foundation New Play award.

October 14

Detroit ‘67 takes place during the explosion of Motown, as well as the height of the civil rights movement in the late 1960s. Drawing upon the thriving music and entertainment environment, siblings Chelle and Lank turn their basement into a hot after-hours joint. As interpersonal tensions rise in their family, so do racial tensions throughout the city. In 2014, Detroit ‘67 won the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama, one of the most prominent prizes given for playwriting.

October 15

Skeleton Crew follows four auto workers who stare insecurity in the face as Detroit falls into the 2008 recession. With the announcement of a shutdown by the end of the year, their jobs at the last exporting auto plant in the city are in jeopardy. With foreclosed homes, dangerous habits and stubborn wills in the mix, frustration and heartache overwhelm these four individuals. Skeleton Crew is scheduled for a production at the Atlantic Theater Company in 2016.

The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is located at 315 E. Warren in Detroit. The free and public readings are made possible through support from and partnership with the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History and the Michigan Coalition for Human Rights.