Jungle Theater to Present DETROIT, 4/11-5/25

The Jungle Theater presents the regional premiere of DETROIT, playwright Lisa D'Amour's award-winning dissection of what it means to be middle class in this era of economic uncertainty. Detroit takes place in a first-ring suburb outside a mid-sized American city where Ben (John Middleton) and Mary (Angie Timberman) fire up the grill to welcome the couple (Anna Sundberg and Tyson Forbes) who've moved into the long-empty house next door. The fledgling friendship soon veers out of control shattering the fragile hold that newly unemployed Ben and burgeoning alcoholic Mary have on their way of life - with unexpected comic consequences. The play opens April 11 and runs through May 25 at the Jungle Theater, 2951 Lyndale Av. S. in Minneapolis.

Ivey Award-winning director Joel Sass will design and direct Detroit, which is steeped in "David Lynch-y surrealism, dark comedy and the suggestion that we all have a 'secret self'," he said. "The characters are at a turning point-about to fall into a financial abyss, or just starting to climb out. They're all questioning their cultural assumptions about status, comfort, ambition and community-the original suburban ideal." He continued, "With this production of Detroit, we have wonderful actors with incredible comic skills who can bring these social concerns to life in a frighteningly funny and potent way."

Timberman and Forbes are making their Jungle debuts, and Jay Hornbacher returns to the Jungle stage for the first time since 1993 when he played Dr. Otto Frank in the theater's celebrated production of The Diary of Anne Frank.

The Detroit creative team includes Barry Browning (lighting design), Amelia Cheever (costume design) and C. Andrew Mayer (sound design).

D'Amour has deep Twin Cities connections as she is a core member of the Playwrights' Center and was the recipient of Jerome and McKnight Fellowships. Her plays have been commissioned and produced by theaters across the country, including The Women's Project Theater (NYC), Playwrights' Horizons (NYC), Children's Theater Company (Minneapolis), Guthrie Theater (Minneapolis), Steppenwolf Theater Company (Chicago) and the Royal National Theater (London).

Detroit premiered at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre in 2010, ran Off-Broadway in 2012 and won an Obie Award for Best New American Play in 2013.

Detroit performances at the Jungle are Tuesdays ($25), Wednesdays ($33) and Thursdays ($38) at 7:30 p.m.; Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. ($43); Sundays at 2 p.m. ($38); and Sundays at 7:30 p.m. ($33). Senior, student and group discounts are also available, and rush tickets are available every night of the week 30 minutes prior to the performance for $10 off the regular price. Tickets are available at (612) 822-7063 or online at www.jungletheater.com.

Photo by Drew Trampe