Displaying items by tag: dominique morisseau
Rich Dialog Brings to Life the Denizens of Detroit Stamping Factory as Shutdown Approaches
In Skeleton Crew, playwright Dominique Morisseau hits close to home, presenting an event that still profoundly impacts America: the 2008 economic meltdown. It is captured here in the form of an imminent Detroit car plant closure.
Our memories are still fresh from that time, and wounds to our social fabric not fully healed from a period when millions lost their homes and savings, and we careened to the brink of a global depression, nearly bankrupting U.S. auto makers.
As Skeleton Crew opens, this tumultuous crash is still unfolding and American were living through early phases of what would befall us. At the plant, management has been whittling away at the employee headcount, raising workloads for those remaining, even as rumors abound that this auto body metal stamping plant may close.
The action plays out entirely in the break room, from which massive industrial gantries and cranes are visible overhead. The clamor of the production line permeates the set as we meet Faye, a senior factory veteran and United Auto Workers Union steward (Jacqueline Williams delivers a dynamic performance); Dez, an aspiring young entrepreneur just finding his in life and work (Bernard Gilbert is excellent); and Shanita, an expectant mom who is also model employee. (AnJi White offers a richly textured performance). A supervisor, Reggie (Kelvin Rolston, Jr.) who has risen through the ranks, represents management in the unfolding drama.
I suspect these characters also stand as archetypes, symbolizing familiar types and generational shifts – each carries also a large measure of personal baggage and backstory. We learn that Reggie’s late mom was very close to Faye, and that Faye was like a second mother to him. We see Dez mapping out plans to open a small business – a car repair and restoration shop - but sense the incursions of rising crime and social dissolution. Dez is jumped by two thugs at a convenience store, and with the perspective of today's #BlackLivesMatter sensibilities, see another young black male at risk. Dez begins to carry a gun, and perhaps Morisseau means to foreshadow the tribulation of inner city violence today.
The more circumspect Shanita represents self-reliance and maturity. Perhaps just a little older than Dez, she fends off his less-than-serious amorous advances, until shifting gears when she becomes pregnant. Faye is the establishment, the UAW go-between to management negotiating secretly with Reggie over how workers will be affected by the shutdown. We learn the circumstances of her personal life are crumbling - as is the auto industry, and perhaps Morisseau is suggesting, social norms.
Morisseau’s earlier installments in her trilogy of plays, Detroit 67 (at Northlight in 2013) and Paradise Blue at Chicago’s Timeline Theatre in July 2017 – also displayed her facility for rich dialog, and an eye for character and dramatic trajectory. All three have been directed by Ron O.J Parsons (formidably well in Paradise Blue and Skeleton Crew; I missed Detroit 67). Parsons is also a frequent interpreter of August Wilson’s dramas at Court Theatre, where he is an artist in residence, and around the country. That is a fit for Morisseau, who says she aspires to give voice to Detroit (she uses the word “griot” for her role here) just as August Wilson was for Pittsburgh in his cycle of plays set there.
Northlight Theater's high production values have given a fine expression to this show, with Scott Davis (scenic design), Samantha C. Jones (costumes), Keith Parham (lighting), and Ray Nardelli (sound). Rita Vreeland is Production Stage Manager. The show is highly recommended, especially so since you are well advised to watch for revivals of the rest of Morisseau's trilogy. Skeleton Crew runs through March 3 at Northlight's home, the Northshore Center for the Performing Arts in Skokie.
Announcing the 2026 Broadway In Chicago Summer Concert
27 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatreBroadway In Chicago will bring its free annual SUMMER CONCERT to Millennium Park on Monday, August 10, 2026. Sponsored by…
Lookingglass presents Ice Cream Circus, June 2-7, as part of Night Out in the Parks
27 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatreLookingglass Theatre Company presents Ice Cream Circus! 2026, a free, family-friendly theatrical event presented as part of the Chicago Park District's Night Out…
YI Love Jewish and Arts Judaica Chicago Premiere of A PEOPLE at Theater Wit June 18 – July 5
27 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatreThe South Florida based YI Love Jewish and Chicago-based Arts Judaica proudly join forces to present a limited engagement of the Chicago…
HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH Coming to Chicago July 9th
27 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatreJK Entertainment is proud to announce the final production of their inaugural season: HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, the cult-classic created…
Chicago City Opera presents 'Der Rosenkavalier' June 5
27 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatreChicago City Opera (CCO) presents one of late-Romantic composer Richard Strauss' most beloved works, Der Rosenkavalier. In CCO's signature pared…
Porchlight Announces Felicia P. Fields and Anthony Rapp join its Artistic Advisory Board
27 May 2026 in Theatre BuzzAward-winning Porchlight Music Theatre announces today that the recent stars of Porchlight in Concert’s production of Follies, Tony Award-nominee Felicia P. Fields and Broadway’s…
Kokandy Productions Presents HAIR - July 2 – September 13, 2026 at The Chopin Theatre
27 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatreHot off their record-breaking, award-winning runs of Jekyll & Hyde and Amélie, Kokandy Productions is pleased to launch its 2026 Season with the revolutionary "love-rock"…
Babes With Blades presents the world premiere premiere of yo ho., July 19 - August 29
27 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatreBabes With Blades Theatre Company’s (BWBTC) 2026 season opens with a world premiere, yo ho., by playwright SMJ, directed by JD Caudill and fight choreography by Carly…
PrideArts to present BEHIND THE CURTAIN: UNTOLD STORIES FROM CANADA’S TEAM BROADWAY on Monday, July 6th
27 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatrePrideArts announced today that Craig Ramsay and Catherine Wreford will bring the magic of Broadway to the Hoover-Leppen Theatre at…
Music Theater Works presents WEST SIDE STORY, August 13 - 30
24 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatreMusic Theater Works is proud to announce the cast and creative team for the second production of its 2026 season, West Side…
Whammy, Indeed: Koechner’s Stand‑Up Evolves at The Den
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League of Chicago Theatres welcomes the summer theatre season
22 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatreChicago continues to produce some of the most exciting work in the country this Summer, offering a wide variety of plays…
Spaceman: Into the Quiet Terror of the Void
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Inside a Real ‘Fire House’ You Are Immersed in Phantasmic Lives of Firefighters
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Raven Theatre announces the 2026-27 season
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Steppenwolf Theatre Presents ALEX EDELMAN: WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO
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Announcing the 26/27 Season at Goodman Theatre
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Black Button Eyes Productions to stage Conor McPherson's one-actor play ST NICHOLAS, June 26 - July 26
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Chicago Shakespeare Theater announces As Long As You're Asking: A Conversation with Jason Alexander
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Midsommer Flight to stage Shakespeare's comedy AS YOU LIKE IT free in six Chicago parks June 26 – August 2
20 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatreFor its 13th free summer production, Midsommer Flight will present one of Shakespeare's most highly regarded and popular comedies. AS YOU…
Chicago Magic Lounge welcomes back fan favorite Ondřej Pšenička for a limited run this summer
19 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatreChicago Magic Lounge, Chicago's home for close-up magic, announces the return of world-renowned magician Ondřej Pšenička in a limited run of his hit…
Porchlight's FREE Summer Concert Series Returns - BROADWAY IN YOUR BACKYARD
19 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatrePorchlight Music Theatre is proud to announce the return of its free summer concert series Broadway in your Backyard, July 6 - September…
Ian Frank named Shattered Globe Theatre’s new Producing Artistic Director
19 May 2026 in Theatre BuzzChicago’s Shattered Globe Theatre announced today that Ian Frank has been selected, following a national search, to be the company’s…
OPERA FESTIVAL OF CHICAGO PRESENTS VERY VERISMO! JUNE 13 AT THE JARVIS OPERA HALL
19 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatreOpera Festival of Chicago opens its 2026 festival season with Very Verismo!, that includes a VIP reception and a captivating concert celebrating…
Couch Penny Ensemble presents An Oak Tree by Tim Crouch, running June 19-July 5 at the Greenhouse Theater Center
18 May 2026 in Upcoming TheatreTwo actors. One has rehearsed the play. The other has neither seen nor read it. A different performer joins the…
AstonRep Productions to stage US Premiere of Liisa Repo-Martell's new adaptation of Chekhov's UNCLE VANYA, June 18 – July 5 at the Edge Off-Broadway Theatre
18 May 2026 in Upcoming DanceAstonRep Productions, the theatre and film production company that has produced over 30 stage productions in Chicago, has announced it…
A Red Orchid’s The Targeted Builds a Case for Compassion
18 May 2026 in Theatre in ReviewIf you’ve ever worked in an urban coffee shop, chances are you’ve encountered at least one ultra-paranoid kook who believes…
Rocky in Concert Delivers a Knockout Night Despite Technical Stumbles
17 May 2026 in Theatre in ReviewMarking Rocky’s 50th anniversary, Rocky in Concert arrived at the Auditorium Theatre in a highly anticipated Auditorium Philms presentation featuring…
No Dialog, Yet Strongly Affecting, Trap Door's 'Le Bal' Is Like Nothing You've Seen
16 May 2026 in Theatre in ReviewCan you have a play run 90 minutes with no dialog? Indubitably, as Trap Door Theatre demonstrates with its new…
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Announcing the 2026 Broadway In Chicago Summer Concert
Written by Buzz Center StageBroadway In Chicago will bring its free annual SUMMER CONCERT to Millennium Park on Monday, August 10, 2026. Sponsored by ABC 7 Chicago, the concert begins at 6:15 p.m. at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion (201 E. Randolph St.) and is… -
Chicago City Opera presents 'Der Rosenkavalier' June 5
Written by Buzz Center StageChicago City Opera (CCO) presents one of late-Romantic composer Richard Strauss' most beloved works, Der Rosenkavalier. In CCO's signature pared down style, the grand opera is stripped down to its raw essentials, highlighting the complex relationships, sophisticated humor, and nuanced…
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Porchlight Announces Felicia P. Fields and Anthony Rapp join its Artistic Advisory Board
Written by Buzz Center StageAward-winning Porchlight Music Theatre announces today that the recent stars of Porchlight in Concert’s production of Follies, Tony Award-nominee Felicia P. Fields and Broadway’s Anthony Rapp, have joined the Artistic Advisory Board. Porchlight's Artistic Advisory Board consists of seasoned professionals who have excelled in their…
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Babes With Blades presents the world premiere premiere of yo ho., July 19 - August 29
Written by Buzz Center StageBabes With Blades Theatre Company’s (BWBTC) 2026 season opens with a world premiere, yo ho., by playwright SMJ, directed by JD Caudill and fight choreography by Carly “CB” Cason, July 19 - August 29 at The Edge Theater Off Broadway, 1133 W. Catalpa Ave. The running time is approximately two…
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