SKELETON CREW at The Justice Theater Project

SKELETON CREW focuses on the residents of Detroit, MI, around 2008. As the Great Recession hits, Detroit’s automotive stamping plant is in danger of being shut down. A tight-knit family of workers forms the remaining skeleton crew as their lives hang in jeopardy. Faye, Dez, Shanita, and Reggie must reckon with their loyalties, survival instincts, and ultimate hopes for humanity in a play that simultaneously explores a dozen social justice issues. We get to know these factory employees who take pride in their work and are determined to survive, who, like all human beings, make mistakes and shine, whose decency and care not only for earnings but also actually like each other as job insecurities mount. This show illuminates the truths of living in a challenging situation. We also live in a time in which those who, economically, are often blamed by political leaders for personal failings when they are up against a system stacked in favor of corporate interests. WINNER: Tony Award for Best Actress (Phylicia Rashad). Nominated: Tony Award Best Play.

Director Dr. Bodie-Smith said, “This show is captivating and human, with three distinctive generation gaps, reminding us that hope is more than just needed but necessary. Dominique Morisseau helps us see the deep truth of the characters' lives. We love them for their individual strengths and idiosyncrasies because they are clearly reflected back at us. The play highlights the actions of contradictory characters who have become a family. They should not get along because of the generational gap and the racial and economic challenges, but they do because of their shared interests and familial attachment to each other. But when their livelihoods and futures are threatened by the prospect of losing their jobs, they fight with desperate acts of denial and rebellion. The understanding that they are just numbers, easily discarded, much like the parts in the factory, is a bleak revelation for them. It leaves those watching saddened yet hoping they will somehow be different. There is much to dissect in the play, but its true power is the love and affection held by them for each other. I am so proud of the phenomenal cast audiences will witness. They are small in number, but their strong gifts as storytellers will leave a tangible mark on all those who come to see.”