For five days in 1967, Detroit was embroiled in dissension. Rebellion was in the air and city streets resembled war zones. Considered part of the national riots known as the “long, hot summer of 1967,” unrest in Detroit began when the police department raided an unlicensed, after-hours bar on the city’s West Side. This week, the Virginia Stage Company begins to bring that chaos and conflict to the stage in its production of “Detroit ′67.”
There’s been just a few days for the Atlanta-based director and playwright, Thomas W. Jones II, to get his bearings here in Norfolk, as rehearsals for the play that he’s here to direct, Detroit ’67, begin in earnest. The Dominique Morisseau penned drama is being produced by Virginia Stage Company at the Wells Theatre, and follows the company’s excellent production of Guys and Dolls, which just launched VSC’s 41st season last month.
“There were new manufacturing jobs in Detroit, and with that came people moving out of apartment-like and project-like homes into two-story and one-story homes. With a home came a space called “a basement”, which for Black middle-class life (and for my life growing up) was a repository of dreams. It was a place where you went to imagine …”
At Virginia Stage Company, we welcome all audiences to enjoy the experience of live theatre by improving access to services that accommodate the needs of our diverse communities. We believe theatre should be accessible for all people, with all abilities, and we are thrilled to expand our range of consistent services in Season 41.
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