Detroit Repertory Theatre Announces 61st Season

Michigan's longest running, nonprofit, professional theatre announces its 61st season. The Detroit Repertory Theatre continues its mission to produce indigenous, diversity centered theatre and to democratize the arts from its legendary inner city stage in the heart of Detroit.

The Detroit Repertory Theatre is one of a handful of neighborhood based, union, professional theatres in this country that still thrives. It has become a model of grassroots artistic development and remains in the forefront of race transcendent casting - casting without regard to ethnicity (unless germane to the play) and when possible, gender.

The mission, to use the unifying power of theatre to prove the power of diversity acting in unity, has united Metro Detroiters since 1957.

The four plays on the upcoming season reflect that mission, presenting stories of hope for a better world, relevant to all Americans today, but especially to metro Detroiters. The first is a romantic comedy about a young marine biologist's love of salmon as she tries to convince her Reagan-worshipping mother that climate change is real; second is a sensuous story written by a Detroit Rep company member about two flawed people with messy pasts thrown together by happenstance; next, construction workers building a park where two girls, one white and one black were murdered is a poetic look at race relations in America today; and ending the season is a dark comedy set in a forgotten neighborhood of Detroit, also written by a native Detroiter, about the power of community. Read more about the plays in detail below.

The Detroit Repertory Theatre has will kick off the 2017/18 season on Thursday, November 02, 2017 with a Champagne Celebration and toast to the power of theatre and this vital Detroit arts institution. The Annual Black Tie Gala Awards Night and Homecoming Celebration benefit for the Detroit Repertory Theatre will be Saturday, November 18, 2017. Tickets for this event are $75 and tax deductible sponsorships are available.

More information may be found at www.detroitreptheatre.com.

World PremiereSwimming Upstreamby Rich RubinNovember 2 to December 23, 2017, directed by Harry Wetzel

A comedy about a young marine biologist, spawning salmon, superman and love. Climate change is affecting the world's salmon, but Jen's boss won't let her report her findings. Her new boyfriend, a super-hero aficionado, thinks the salmon's life story is eerily similar to Superman's. And did we mention that her mother tries to help by repeatedly quoting Ronald Reagan? As she encounters the zigs and zags of both her professional career and her personal relationships, she discovers that going with the flow is sometimes not a viable option and that swimming upstream is the only way to proceed.

Midwest PremiereDauphin Islandby Jeffry ChastangJanuary 11 to March 18, 2018directed by Leah Smith

Detroit playwright and Detroit Rep actor Jeffry Chastang takes us on an adventure in the comedy drama, Dauphin Island. Suspicion and fascination dovetail when Selwyn interrupts the self-imposed isolation of Kendra. Leaving behind a messy divorce and time spent living in his car in Detroit, he embarks on a trip for a new beginning. When his car breaks down, he happens upon Kendra, a woman who has secluded herself in the Alabama woods. The play follows the two displaced characters as their lives begin to unexpectedly intertwine and a romance emerges. The result is a loving look at humanity, but not the saccharine sort of love we so often see on the big and small screen. It is a look at the ability of those laid low to try and rebuild, and their willingness to both understand the faults of others and to be willing to help them recreate themselves.

World Premiere Harmony Park by Daniel Damiano March 29 to May 20, 2018 directed by Barbara Busby

Set on the construction site of a soon-to-be public park in Queens, NY, the friendship between a black foreman and a younger white landscaper is tested when a newly hired crew member's past is revealed. The site the workers are reclaiming is the locality of the brutal murder of two young girls, one black and one white.

Michigan Premiere Ghost Gardens by Steven Simoncic May 31 to July 1, 2018 directed by Lynch R. Travis

In a forgotten part of Detroit there is a pimp-turned-preacher looking for redemption, a stripper-turned-nurse looking for justice, and Lorelie... who just wants a baby. For ten years she has tried and for ten years she has failed. Until today when she announces to the world she is finally having a baby... and that changes everything. Ghost Gardens weaves fantasy and reality into a story of the humor, grit, denial and delusion it takes to survive in an urban village, pitting redemption against destruction and hope against hopelessness._

Regular performances are Thursdays and Fridays at 8:30 PM, Saturdays at 3 PM and 8:30 PM, and Sundays at 2 PM and 7:30 PM. All Tickets, Fundraisers, Bargain Booklets, and Subscriptions remain the most affordable prices for not-for-profit professional theatre in the Region. General admission is $17 in advance and $20 for same day admission -- all seats, all performances. The Rep's "Anytime, Multi-Use" Gold Double Subscription for two is the unmatched price of $100 and a Silver Single Person Subscription is $50. 10-ticket Bargain Booklets, Regular and Matinee are $110 and $100 respectively and make great mini-fundraisers.

For tickets, fundraisers and information call or visit the Rep Box office, 313*868*1347. Tickets can be purchased online at detroitreptheatre.com or by phone using Visa or MasterCard. There is no surcharge. Large group packages are available to organizations who wish to utilize the Rep for fundraisers, and early-bird bookers will get free champagne for their reception. For information call (313) 868-1347 or visit detroitreptheatre.com

The Detroit Repertory Theatre is located in the center of the city at 13103 Woodrow Wilson, Detroit, MI 48238. Parking is lighted, adjacent, attended, fenced-in and free. About the Rep

The oldest professional (Union) non-profit theatre in the State of Michigan, the Detroit Repertory Theatre's mission is guided by the belief that the sense of community is stronger than the forces that splinter and that efforts to preserve unity deserve the same attention and support as the justly cultivated efforts to retain diversity. The implicit goal in all the theatre's efforts is to produce the best possible professional theatre while fostering cultural democratization of the arts, and fighting, by example, the disturbing level of racism that still exists.

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