<p>When the lights come up on the set of Dominique Morisseau’s “Detroit '67,” now playing at eta Creative Arts Foundation, the first sound the audience hears is The Temptations' 1966 hit “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.”</p><p>The song works on two levels: It inspired Morisseau’s Tony-nominated jukebox musical, “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations,” which propelled the Detroit native into national recognition as a playwright. The song also foreshadows the events of this historical family drama, which unfolds in the basement of two Detroit siblings in the summer of 1967 — the turntable, which is playing the song on a 45, skips and the song fades away, signaling the need for change. Or perhaps, an upgrade.</p><p>This production is the first of a new partnership that has landed <a class="Link" href="https://www.wbez.org/theater-stages/2024/09/23/pulse-theatre-beneath-the-willow-tree-chicago" target="_blank" ><u>Pulse Theatre Company</u></a> as the first company in residence at eta, which was founded on the South Side in 1969. It launches a season that artistic director Aaron Reese Boseman says focuses on mental health in Black homes.</p><div class="RatingCard Enhancement" data-module data-rating="3.0" data-align-center>
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‘Detroit '67’
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<div class="RichTextModule-items RichTextBody"><b>When</b>: Through Nov. 1<br><b>Where</b>: eta Creative Arts Foundation, 7558 S. South Chicago Ave.<br><b>Tickets</b>: $25-$40<br><b>Info</b>: <a class="Link" href="https://www.pulsetheatrechicago.org/" target="_blank" >pulsetheatrechicago.org</a><br><b>Run time:</b> 2 hours, 30 minutes</div>
</div><p>“Detroit '67,” the first play of Morisseau’s trilogy, The Detroit Project, follows siblings Chelle (Shenise Danyél) and Lank (Tamarus Harvel), who received an inheritance and a home from their late parents. The siblings use their basement to host unlicensed “after-hours” parties to earn extra cash. It takes place in the sweltering summer of 1967, when the city was deeply strained by racial segregation, housing discrimination and hostile police practices.</p><p>The production boasts a run time of over 2½ hours, which is long for my taste, but the story is layered and complex. Much of Act 1 examines the conflict between the siblings. Chelle, a widow supporting a son in college, is content hosting parties and keeping the nest egg from their parents as a rainy day fund. Meanwhile, the ambitious Lank, reminiscent of Walter Lee Younger in “A Raisin in the Sun,” insists they need more. His best friend Sly (Dairyon Bolden) has a tip on a bar for sale and encourages Lank to use the inheritance money to buy the business and go legit with the parties.</p><p>The questions that emerge here go much deeper than siblings having a difference of opinion. Lank is a dreamer and wants to see Black people have a real stake in Detroit, and views entrepreneurship as essential to that vision. Chelle believes the inheritance and home their parents left behind is itself a legacy.</p><p>More than being simply reluctant to buy the bar, Chelle seems opposed to change. Danyél is on an emotional roller coaster in this role and is a force in opposing Lank to follow his dreams, spurning Sly’s advances of love and even refuses to use the 8-track player Lank enthusiastically brings to the basement.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Shenise Danyèl (Chelle) and Tamarus Harvell (Lank) perform a scene from “Detroit 67.” " srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/fa621e8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080×606+0+57/resize/490×275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F4d%2F3c%2F34cf74a94a4082456b7da05e6b56%2Fdetroit67-58.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f172226/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080×606+0+57/resize/980×550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F4d%2F3c%2F34cf74a94a4082456b7da05e6b56%2Fdetroit67-58.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>In “Detroit 67,” Chelle seems opposed to change while her brother, Lank, is a dreamer who insists they need to do more than the unlicensed “after-hours” parties they hold in their basement. </p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Aaron Reese Boseman</p></div></div>
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</div><p>With all of this happening, a new character emerges: a bloody and battered white woman, carried in by Lank and Sly. She’s unconscious. And as mentioned above,<i> it’s 1967</i>. This is a big problem for the siblings.</p><p>The second act is a major pivot. The sibling rivalry takes a turn when Lank, obviously, spends the inheritance money on the bar behind Chelle’s back. But racial tensions between police and Black residents hinted at earlier in the play have now erupted into riots. The bar Lank and Sly just bought is now at risk of being burned down.</p><p>The white woman, Caroline (Emma Jean Eastlund), is on the run from the police. Her bruises, we learn, are the result of domestic violence from a cop she was dating. This also puts Chelle and Lank at risk for harboring her, further complicating the underlying racial tensions of the play.</p><p>A lot happens in this production. And the action, through both acts, is confined to the basement. Boseman directs, and has a clear comfort with Morisseau’s script (he recently directed Morisseau’s “Confederates” at Redtwist, a production that starred Danyél). The pacing allows for silence and space for characters to sit in emotion.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center>
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<img class="Image" alt="Emma Jean Eastlund portrays Caroline in “Detroit '67” " srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/36dd6df/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080×606+0+57/resize/490×275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F2f%2Fb7%2Fed47c87c495b954d628e278496c5%2Fdetroit67-281.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f223a3f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1080×606+0+57/resize/980×550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F2f%2Fb7%2Fed47c87c495b954d628e278496c5%2Fdetroit67-281.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275"
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<div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Emma Jean Eastlund portrays Caroline in “Detroit 67” at eta Creative Arts Foundation. </p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Aaron Reese Boseman</p></div></div>
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</div><p>Music at times feels like a character of its own. The sounds of Motown are a thread throughout with a soundtrack that features The Temptations, The Miracles and The Four Tops, among others. The music also helps manifest the themes of the production. In the opening scene, Chelle’s record player fails. Even with her record player broken, Chelle is not sold on the 8-track, insisting that hearing the scratch of a needle is an imperfection that enhances the experience of listening to music.</p><p>With riots outside and an unexpected visitor inside, Chelle is forced to come to grips with a changing world. The second act is filled with smoke, sirens and unrest, but through it all Chelle learns to dream, to love and to let go. She sheds her old record player, along with her old self, and in the final scene, pops The Four Tops into the 8-track player and dances freely. She’s a new woman.</p>
Review: ‘Detroit 67’ at eta Creative Arts Foundation 2026
IUSTITIA.BG – Investigations 2009-2026 2026-09-23 20:13:35
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