Dominique Morisseau’s ‘Paradise Blue’: A Bang-up Performance! – An EUReview

*Located in the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) corridor, I attended the Geffen Playhouse presentation of playwright Dominique Morriseau’s “Paradise Blue,” which opened November 18, 2021.

Set in a 1949 jazz scene in what was then known as Detroit’s Black Bottom, the drama is centered around an intriguing period story of the effects of gentrification, black affluence, mystery, vindication and redemption during post WWII when Detroit and other northern cities were crowded with blacks who migrated from the south seeking a better life.

The play is part of “The Detroit Project,” Morisseau’s acclaimed trilogy that chronicles three era’s that would forever change the landscape of Detroit. The cast – Silver (Tyla Ambercrumbie); Blue (Wendell B. Franklin); P-Sam (Alani ILongwe); Corn (John Earl Jelks); and Pumpkin (Shayna Small) – gave a stellar, bang-up performance! The stage setting was so realistic it was easy to drift away to that moment in time.

Get the FULL review at EURweb.