Jonathan Popp
Chelle (Nyajai Ellison) and Sly (Jalen Thomas) begin a romance amid the turmoil.
In the light of recent police shootings of young black men, there may not be a more timely, thought-provoking play than Dominique Morisseau’s Detroit ‘67.
The first of the playwright’s trio of plays that explore pivotal moments in the history of her hometown, it captures a desperate episode in the lives of one family — brother and sister Chelle and Langk — during the race riots of 1967. The current production by the Kathie Rasmussen Women’s Theater, playing on the Evjue stage at the Bartell through Nov. 12, brings that historic moment vividly to life. Deftly directed by Dana Pellebon, it allows audiences to absorb violent echoes from the past and assess how far race relations have really come in the interceding 50 years.
The action of the play takes place in the basement of Chelle and Langk’s parents’ home, convincingly depicted by set designer Gretchen Wheat, where cinder block walls are covered with music posters, Christmas lights, childhood drawings and a painting of a black power fist. Now that their mother and father have died, the siblings have inherited the house where they grew up and are making some extra cash by turning the lower level into an after-hours club on weekends. Chelle (a brilliant Nyajai Ellison) is saving her half of the inheritance money to pay for her son’s college education, while Langk (a sensitive Maxton Young-Jones), laid off from the auto plant, dreams of using the funds to open his own bar. The scenario is further complicated when Langk and his friend Sly (smooth and charming Jalen Thomas) rescue a badly beaten white woman (Carrie Sweet) and bring her back to the basement to recuperate.
The soundtrack of the period — and the play — is filled with Motown classics from the Temptations, the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Martha and the Vandellas and more. It is the height of Detroit’s music scene and also a powerful illustration of “crossover” — the idea that white and black listeners can admire and agree on what Langk calls “negro music.” That middle ground is annihilated by the end of the play.
Somewhat predictable scenes alternate between political crises and interpersonal challenges as Chelle and Langk argue over their place in society, their inheritance, and their feelings for someone that they ultimately can’t be with. Just as Chelle adores her 45 rpm records that routinely skip on the turntable, she clings to carefully prescribed norms of the past, while the forward-looking Langk invests in a new 8-track tape player, hoping for a better future. In the end they are both bitterly disappointed and changed by the period of violent upheaval.
The solid cast turns in good performances — often delivering lines at breakneck speed. But the play’s center is Ellison’s vivid and honest portrayal of Chelle — channeling determination, rage, resignation, love, fear and disappointment. On a stage full of interesting actors, it’s impossible not to watch her.
Kathie Rasmussen Women’s Theater has lined up an impressive group of local professors, journalists, and social activists to lead talkbacks with the audience after several upcoming performances. They should be commended for continuing the conversation about race with the community after the final bows.
