Powerhouse Cast to Bring DETROIT '67 to the Actors Theatre This Fall

Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Kevin E. Moore are pleased to announce the cast and creative team for Dominique Morisseau's heartfelt drama, Detroit '67.

Directed by Kyle Donnelly (Helen Hayes Award-winner for Best Production and Best New Musical), Detroit '67 will preview on November 15 and 16, open on November 17, and run through December 11 in the Bingham Theatre as part of the Brown-Forman Series, with the production underwritten by D.D. Williamson & Co.

Tickets are available at 502.584.1205, online at ActorsTheatre.org, or in person by visiting The Actors Theatre Box Office at 316 West Main Street, Louisville, KY, 40202.

It's the summer of 1967, and the irresistible music of Motown is breaking records and breaking down barriers. Siblings Chelle and Lank make ends meet by running an unofficial nightclub in their Detroit basement, a risky business as police crack down on after-hours joints in black neighborhoods. When Lank offers shelter to an injurEd White woman, tensions escalate both in their home and in their community-and they find themselves caught in the middle of the '67 Detroit riots. Dominique Morisseau's deeply-felt drama explores an explosive moment in a great American city.

The cast is full of powerhouse talent, including Deonna Bouye (This Random World and How We Got On at Actors Theatre) as Bunny; Garrett Lee Hendricks (Playing the Assassin at TheatreWorks) as Sly; Owiso Odera (The Piano Lesson at McCarter Theatre) as Lank; Jenni Putney (Clybourne Park at Northern Stage) as Caroline; and Hilary Ward (Macbeth and King Lear at Classical Theatre of Harlem) as Chelle.

The creative team for Detroit '67 includes scenic design by Kate Edmunds, costume design by Anne Kennedy, lighting design by Wen-Ling Liao, and sound design by David Van Tieghem.

Playwright Dominique Morisseau is not a stranger to Louisville. She was seen in Actors Theatre's The Mountaintop as Camae in 2013. Detroit '67 marks the debut of her work as a playwright at Actors Theatre. Morisseau is an alumna of The Public Theater Emerging Writers Group, Women's Project Lab and Lark Playwrights' Workshop. Her playwriting credits include Skeleton Crew with Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, Lark BareBones Studio and Scott Rudin Productions at Atlantic Theater Company; Detroit '67 with Public Theater, The Classical Theatre of Harlem and the National Black Theatre; Sunset Baby with Gate Theatre and LAByrinth Theater Company; Follow Me To Nellie's with The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and Premiere Stages. Morisseau has produced other original works with the Hip-Hop Theater Festival, Penn State University, American Theatre of Harlem and The New Group. Her three-play cycle, entitled The Detroit Projects, includes Detroit '67, Paradise Blue and Skeleton Crew. Paradise Blue premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in July 2015, starring Blair Underwood and directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Morisseau is currently the Story Editor on the Showtime series, Shameless. Awards: Jane Chambers Playwriting Award, two-time NAACP Image Award, Primus Prize commendation, Stavis Playwright Award, The Spirit of Detroit Award, University of Manitoba Emerging Leader Award, L. Arnold Weissberger Award, The PoNY Fellowship, Sky Cooper New American Play Prize, The Graham F. Smith Peace Foundation Award, The Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama and The Obie Collaboration Award.

This limited engagement runs November 15 - December 11, with an official opening on November 17. Actors Theatre is committed to providing an accessible theatergoing experience and offers an open captioned performance on November 26 and an audio described performance on November 27 during the run of Detroit '67. For more information about our facilities and all services offered, visit ActorsTheatre.org. Tickets are on sale to the public priced from $25 - $79. Tickets can be purchased by calling The Actors Theatre Box Office at 502.584.1205 or online at ActorsTheatre.org. Special rates for groups of 10 or more are available by calling 502.585.1210.

Important Dates:

Press Opening
Thursday, November 17, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.

Open Captioned Performance
Saturday, November 26, 2016 at 4 p.m.

Audio Described Performance
Sunday, November 27, 2016 at 2:30 p.m.

Community Conversation: Detroit '67
Thursday, December 1, 2016
Cocktail reception from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m.
Discussion immediately following the 8 p.m. performance of Detroit '67
The Community Conversation event focuses on exploring important topics in Louisville's cultural landscape, through the lens of Actors Theatre productions that have similar themes. The post-show discussion with include a dynamic conversation enriched by input from several local leaders representing a range of involvement in the community.

Conversation with the Artists: Detroit '67
Sunday, December 4, 2016
Immediately following the 2:30 p.m. performance of Detroit '67
Enjoy an engaging post-show chat led by a member of our artistic staff.

Teen Night: Detroit '67
Friday, December 9, 2016 at 8 p.m.
Calling all teens, grades 8-12! Bring your friends, see a great show, meet the cast and connect with other teens passionate about theatre!

Now in its 53rd Season, Actors Theatre of Louisville, the State Theatre of Kentucky, is the flagship arts organization in the Louisville community. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Les Waters and Managing Director Kevin E. Moore, Actors Theatre serves to unlock human potential, build community, and enrich quality of life by engaging people in theatre that reflects the wonder and complexity of our time.

Actors Theatre presents almost 350 performances annually and delivers a broad range of programming, including classics and contemporary work through the Brown-Forman Series, holiday plays, a series of free theatrical events produced by the Professional Training Company, and the Humana Festival of New American Plays-the premier new play festival in the nation, which has introduced nearly 450 plays into the American theatre repertoire over the past 40 years. In addition, Actors Theatre provides more than 15,000 arts experiences each year to students across the region through its Education Department, and boasts one of the nation's most prestigious continuing pre-professional resident training companies, now in its 45th year.

Over the past half-century, Actors Theatre has also emerged as one of America's most consistently innovative professional theatre companies, with an annual attendance of 140,000. Actors Theatre has been the recipient of some of the most prestigious awards bestowed on a regional theatre, including a Tony Award for Distinguished Achievement, the James N. Vaughan Memorial Award for Exceptional Achievement and Contribution to the Development of Professional Theatre, and the Margo Jones Award for the Encouragement of New Plays. Actors Theatre has toured to 29 cities and 15 countries worldwide, totaling more than 1,400 appearances internationally. Currently, there are more than 50 published books of plays and criticism from Actors Theatre in circulation-including anthologies of Humana Festival plays, volumes of ten-minute plays and monologues, and essays, scripts and lectures from the Brown-Forman Classics in Context Festival. Numerous plays first produced at Actors Theatre have also been published as individual acting editions, and have been printed in many other anthologies, magazines and journals-making an enduring contribution to American dramatic literature.

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