Detroit (play)
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''Detroit'' is a play by Lisa D'Amour. It was a finalist for the Pulitzer and
Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...
s. The play premiered at the
Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theater company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry (American actor), Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Immaculate Conception grade school in Highland Park, Illinois and is now located in Chica ...
in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
in 2010 and subsequently ran
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
at
Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit American Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. ...
in fall 2012. The play won the
Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...
for Best New American Play in 2013.


Synopsis

Mary and Ben live in an unnamed suburb near a midsize American city, but the city is never specified. Ben has just lost his job as a bank loan officer, and is starting a new job operating an Internet site to give help to people who are in debt. Mary and Ben are hosting their new neighbors, Sharon and Kenny, with a backyard barbecue. Sharon and Kenny live next door in a rented house which has no furniture. During the course of the play, the characters discuss suburban angst related to upward mobility, spousal relationships and economic anxiety.


Production history


Chicago (2010)

The
Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theater company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry (American actor), Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Immaculate Conception grade school in Highland Park, Illinois and is now located in Chica ...
presented the play at the Steppenwolf Theatre in
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
, from September 10, 2010, to November 7, 2010. It was directed by
Austin Pendleton Austin Campbell Pendleton (born March 27, 1940) is an American actor, playwright, theatre director, and instructor. Pendleton is known as a prolific character actor on the stage and screen, whose six-decade career has included roles in films i ...
and choreographed by Tommy Rapley. The Chicago production featured Kevin Anderson as Kenny,
Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth "Laurie" Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress and comedian. Known for her complex and versatile roles across the stage and screen, she has received various accolades throughout a career spanning more than four d ...
as Mary, Kate Arrington as Sharon, Ian Barford as Ben and Robert Breuler as Frank. Lighting was by Kevin Rigdon, sets by Kevin Depinet, costumes by Rachel Healy, and sound by Josh Schmidt.


Off-Broadway (2012)

Although ''Detroit'' was originally expected to transfer to Broadway in Fall 2011, the play received its New York premiere
Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
at
Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit American Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. ...
in 2012. The play opened on September 18, 2012, after previews from August 24, with a cast that featured
David Schwimmer David Lawrence Schwimmer (born November 2, 1966) is an American actor, director, and producer. He gained worldwide recognition for portraying Ross Geller in the sitcom '' Friends'', for which he received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Pri ...
,
Amy Ryan Amy Beth Dziewiontkowski (born May 3, 1968), known professionally as Amy Ryan, is an American actress. She began her professional stage career in 1987 and made her Broadway debut in 1993 as a replacement in the original production of Wendy W ...
and
John Cullum John Cullum (born March 2, 1930) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including '' Shenandoah'' (1975) and '' On the Twentieth Century'' (1978), winning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in ...
, directed by Anne Kauffman. The limited run was extended from October 7 to October 18, 2012.


London (2012)

In 2012, a production of ''Detroit'' opened at the
Royal National Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...
in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
,
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
in the Cottesloe Theatre. It was once again directed by Austin Pendleton.


Detroit (2013)

A production of ''Detroit'' premiered at the Hilberry Theater at
Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...
in
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
. The cast featured Brandy Joe Plambeck, Vanessa Sawson, Dani Cochrane, and David Sterritt. It was directed by Lavinia Hart.


Washington, DC (2013)

A production of ''Detroit'' premiered at
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company is a non-profit theatre company located at 641 D Street NW in the Penn Quarter neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1980, it produces new plays which it believes to be edgy, challenging, and thought-provok ...
in September, 2013. The cast includes Woolly Company Members Emily Townley and Michael Willis. Gabriela Fernandez-Coffey, Tim Getman, and Danny Gavigan. The set was designed by Tom Kamm.


Ottawa, ON (2014)

''Detroit'' received its Canadian premiere in January 2014 at The Gladstone Theatre in Ottawa. It is directed by Chris Ralph and will feature Teri Loretto Valentik, David Whiteley, Stephanie Izsak, David Benedict Brown and Geoff Gruson. A Plosive Production.


Awards and nominations

On April 18, 2011, the winner of the 2011
Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...
was announced. ''Detroit'' was a finalist along with the play '' A Free Man of Color'', with the winner being '' Clybourne Park''. The piece was also a finalist for the
Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...
. ''Detroit'' won the
Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...
for Best New American Play for 2013.


Response

Chris Jones in the ''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'' wrote of the show: "Sure, D’Amour ultimately does not delve as deep as one might wish into the implications of the situation she so richly and vividly realizes. And Austin Pendleton’s quirky and amusing production doesn’t always keep its balance ... But D’Amour has penned a very provocative snapshot of the perilous moment ... that sense of dislocation is exquisitely embodied in the work of Laurie Metcalf, an actress who long has understood the precarious dreams of the lower-middle class. Her blistering performance here has the incision of a laser, creating a character who knows that everything is going away and tries to figure out what that might mean." "The dream here is the 1960s first-ring suburb," said Michael Brosilow, "where neighbors socialize and kids play outside. But in 2010, "does anyone talk to their neighbors anymore?" Sharon asks, before revealing that she and Kenny are recovering substance abusers. That revelation puts the first chinks in the veneer of Mary and Ben’s safe-and-happy home life; we come to see how close they are to the precipice." Mary Shen Barnidge of the '' Windy City Times'' observed, "Despite the serious questions it raises, D'Amour's premise has all the makings of a situation comedy. There's even a drunk scene—that standby of 1950s farce—along with extended recitations of heavily-symbolic dreams and the bizarre street names characteristic of open-box-add-water subdivisions to escalate the atmosphere of dislocation." The London production received similar responses. Many praised D'Amour's writing and Michael Billington in ''The Guardian'' wrote: "D'Amour makes some interesting points in this two-hour play: especially about the lingering suburban dream of a post-Thoreau, back-to-nature existence that leads the two women to set out on an abortive camping trip, which is matched by the hard-up guys planning a nocturnal rave-up. But, although D'Amour registers the solitude and despair of the innercity suburbs, she only briefly relates that to the broader picture of American decline and consigns a lecture on the loss of communal values to an awkward coda." ''Time Out London'' gave the London production a four out of five star rating and wrote: "'Detroit' looks like a very fine small-scale play that's trying a touch too hard to embrace big national themes. But there's a lovely looseness, rhythm and exhilaration to D'Amour's writing, especially in the tender, misguided relationship between the two women, who take off for a weekend camping in the woods....but only make it as far as the gas station. It is most original when it advances on Betty Friedan in its wry, acute portrait of contemporary suburban women living dangerously, on the tightrope between boredom and self-destruction.""Detroit"
timeout.com (London), May 16, 2012
The Blog
A Cultured Lad
gave it a positive review stating that "D’Amour’s play is fierce, and ferociously funny. Her dialogue is spot on and the characters are immensely entertaining personalities."


References


External links

*
Steppenwolf Theatre production website

''Theater in Chicago'' listing
{{OBIE plays 2010 plays Off-Broadway plays Detroit in fiction American plays Plays set in Michigan