BWW Reviews: AART Ensemble Takes DETROIT 67 On a Serious, Groovy Ride at a Rock Steady Pace

The year was 1967 and an unusually hot summer was in full swing in Detroit, Michigan. Home to thousands of black families, many of these individuals had migrated from southern states in search of factories jobs in the city, as well as other Michigan cities like Flint, Saginaw, Pontiac, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo. In these industrial centers, blacks could secure well-paying positions that placed them solidly in the middle class alongside other ethnic communities, noticeably a dense Jewish community.

These two communities were particularly concentrated in the 12th Street section of Detroit, a mile long business district in existence since the 1920s marked by a bevy of Jewish-owned markets and shops which allowed residents to basically work and shop where they lived.

Man cannot live on work alone so the 12th Street area was also home to a number of speakeasies known as "blind pigs", after hour clubs that sold illegal alcohol to paying customers. These clubs, which could be found in business establishments, store fronts, or even resident basements attracted a kaleidoscope of characters from your church types and teenagers dancing on a high to the sounds of Motown, hustlers peddling their wares or pushing numbers, prostitutes offering their bodies as refuge for the lonely with their pimps nearby, or drug dealers pushing their products to those seeking that predictable high.

Police presence in this area was a common factor, marked by frequent raids on blind pigs joints to shut them down. But people being people, and wanting to have fun and satisfy the yearnings of their flesh, simply moved from one blind pig to another based on where they would experience the best time.

It was in this cauldron of activity that a match was lit in the wee morning hours of July 23 and gave rise to one of worst citizen riots in American history. A group of 82 blacks were at a blind pig at Economy Printing, a 12th Street business during the day, celebrating the return of two soldiers who had been fighting in the Vietnam war when a police raid occurred.

Four days later, after the deployment of federal troops by President Lyndon B. Johnson and with riots also breaking out in neighboring cities like Flint, Saginaw, Grand Rapids, and Pontiac, 43 people were dead, 473 injured, and over 7,000 arrested. In this melee, over 7,000 businesses were looted and burned including black-owned establishments. In many ways, the riots were a prelim to the industrial destruction that would beset the city in less than 15 years with the election of Ronald Reagan and the exodus of the automotive industry.

It is in this setting that the regional production of "Detroit 67", written by Detroit native Dominique Morisseau and produced by the African American Repertory Theater (AART) takes place. In what can be a story easily dismissed as regional, of interest only to people familiar with the rise and fall of the city, Morisseau's colorful and fluid writing style complete with vernacular of that period, along with great direction and blocking creates a theatrical setting in which one is completely absorbed into the story and its place in U.S. history.

AART takes great care to draw you into the story immediately upon walking into the highly functional KD Studio Theater with an outstanding replica of a basement living area typically found in northern states only. The details were impeccable for those of us fortunate enough to have lived with them (narrow stairs leading into the space, frumpy sofa with makeshift coffee table, extra refrigerator, utility tub, clothes line stretched from one wall to the other, and floor console), it was a wonderful yet bittersweet reminder of a piece of our past that still struggles to survive based on the bleak economic conditions in the State of Michigan complete with overwhelming crime statistics.

As the story opens, the attention to detail didn't stop with the set. We find Michelle Poindexter aka Chelle, played beautifully by Dallas stage veteran Regina Washington, making last minute preparations to turn her deceased parent's home into a makeshift blind pig to earn extra cash to support the household and adult son Julius who's away at college at Tuskegee University.

As Chelle works, she painstakingly tries to keep the sound of her favorite Motown song at the moment, "Ain't Too Proud To Beg", to keep playing with the assistance of a penny on top of the needle to prevent the record from skipping. At this point, it should be noted the sound cues were tighter in this scene and throughout the play than any other show reviewed to-date. As the record skipped and Chelle tried to correct it, the authenticity of the sound followed by human reaction was spot on for anyone who's struggled with this task.

Soon enters her brother Langston Hughes Poindexter aka "Lank", played with amazing intensity and range by the stage veteran Vince McGill, with a surprise for his sister in the form of a brand spanking new 8-track player and cassettes of Chelle's favorite artists like The Temptations, Martha and the Vandellas, and Smokey Robinson. Fully expecting 45's to be purchased with the money she fronted him for the party, Chelle expresses her dissatisfaction with a terse "how much it cost?," to which Lank proudly states "money ain't no object when it comes to quality," that Chelle counters with "well, I'll just keep my little record player to myself."

Consistent with the time, Lank is caught up in the growth and prosperity of the time and envisions getting his piece of the American pie by obtaining a liquor license and opening up a legitimate bar to complete with an rival blind pig joint named Duke's as partners with his best friend Sylvester, played by Artist Thornton Jr. who COMMANDS the space every time he hits the stage with charismatic flair that makes you want to see him win and make it. To McGill's credit for which he should be applauded, his characterization of Lank is reminiscent of the character Walter Lee in Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun" in terms of each character's desire to provide for their families as the primary breadwinner

Chelle is skeptical of this latest plan of her brothers but Lank is adamant that it is the way UP for them, envisioning a Detroit that can be words like a "utopia" or "mecca," "where all those Muhammad people go. White's moving out? Where they going? Because if they leaving, niggas know how to find them."

However, Lank's dream of a comfortable, financially secure life are dashed when he and Sylvester unexpectedly bring home an unidentified white woman who has been severely beaten and try to hide her in the basement away from Chelle. Lank is perplexed yet drawn to the woman and Sylvester in his drunken stupor is anxious about the situation and what to do, telling his friend "Nigga, don't be trying to slick talk me when I'm drunk."

When Chelle finds out, she hits the roof but consents to let the woman whose name is Caroline, portrayed AMAZINGLY by the gifted Cara Reid, stay one week and that's it, with the provision of working for her keep. Reid takes Caroline and molds her like a potter creating a beautiful yet flawed work of art. The nuances she builds into this character were absolutely CAPTIVATING and a joy to experience.

Chelle's best friend Bunny, played with fiery SIZZLE by the exceptionally talented Ayoka Lawson, learns about the situation and at first drips sarcasm. "She a nigger lover. What she know about Bally High? Some black done been up in her." But as she thinks about the Poindexter's dilemma, she sees a financial opportunity present through the upcoming festivities. "People can't wait to get here and get served by a white girl! White girls are a natural aphrodisiac!" Like Thornton, every time Lawson was on stage, she was larger than life and had everyone in stitches as a much needed source of comic relief but with style!

As the story progress, Bunny's words ring true because Lank finds himself drawn to Caroline. As she dances to the song "How Good It Is To Be Loved By You," Lank likes what he sees and they connect on a mutual love of the soundtrack of their lives and genuine physical attraction. This scene was particularly moving because each actor made you feel like you were watching the start of something incredibly beautiful, in a world all its own untainted by the challenges of an often chaotic world.

But their romance is short-lived as Chelle moves in to stop a union that at the same time frightens her and makes her jealous, as well as the riots which loom in the background yet not having transpired. After the riots commence, their lives are forever changed in more ways than one but there is a silver lining after the smoke clears as Chelle tends to her own heart and continues to be the big sister and protector to her brother who simply wants to be a man on his terms.

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"Detroit 67" runs through Nov. 23 at the KD Studio Theatre, located at 2600 N. Stemmons Freeway,
Suite 180, Dallas, TX, 75207. Performances are Thursdays, Fridays, & Saturdays @ 7:30 p.m. and Saturdays & Sundays @ 2:30 p.m. Tickets Prices: $20 - $25 (no transaction fees). For special group and student rates, email: aartboxoffice@gmail.com. For more information about the African American Repertory Company, visit: http://aareptheater.com/.

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