Detroit '67

Play

Writers: Dominique Morisseau

Overview

Show Information

Category
Play
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
2013
Genres
Drama
Settings
Unit/Single Set
Time & Place
detroit, july 1967
Cast Size
small
Ideal for
College/University, Diverse Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Small Cast
Casting Notes
Mostly female cast
Includes adult, young adult characters

Synopsis

Detroit ‘67 tells the story of conflicting siblings against a backdrop of the race riots that shook Detroit, Michigan, in the summer of 1967.

Chelle and Lank are brother and sister who share their recently inherited childhood home. They work together, scraping enough money to make ends meet. To supplement their small inheritance, they have converted their basement into a small private club. Although the siblings are close, Lank, a dreamer, has secret plans for the money raised by their little nightclub: he and a friend want to buy a real bar together. Lank knows that his more conventional sister will object--she has a son at college who needs her financial support. After Lank and his buddy Sly find a badly beaten white woman on their way home one night, their situation becomes further complicated. Chelle reluctantly agrees to let Caroline (the mystery lady) stay if she pulls her weight by working in the basement--a decision she comes to quickly regret when she notices the chemistry between Caroline and her brother.

The second installment in Dominique Morisseau’s play cycle The Detroit Project, Detroit ‘67 provides an unflinching look at race relations in during the turbulent Civil Rights Movement and is sure to become a classic!

Lead Characters


Detroit '67 guide sections