Detroit ‘67
by Dominique Morisseau Directed by Shirley Jo Finney
When their parents died, Chelle and Lank inherited their childhood home in Detroit, Michigan. To make ends meet the siblings host “basement parties” spinning the newest records to come out of Motown, a risky business as police crack down on after-hours joints in black neighborhoods. When Lank happens upon a badly beaten white woman stumbling along the avenue, he decides to bring her home to his sister for help. As tensions between police and black residents rise, Chelle and Lank suddenly find themselves in danger. Winner of The Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama, Detroit ’67 is a tense, entertaining portrayal of the hazards of idealism at the epicenter of a riot.