Reviews

Detroit: A Play by Lisa D'Amour

kimberly_levaco's review

sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Self destructive people showing they’re not self destructive by destroying other people.

pensivepelican's review

2.0

It had its moments, but I can't believe this is Pulitzer material. None of the characters were compelling, the plot went nowhere and the stage directions were bizarrely casual.

fresnocrawlin's review

challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don’t know how to phrase this, but…

The play ends with

Sharon and Kenny relapse partially because of Ben and Mary, but the ending follows Ben and Mary is… weird. The ending leaves me with two possible conclusions.

1. Mary and Ben are worse for having met Sharon and Kenny. This rubs me the wrong way because it seems reductive, blaming addicts and increasing stigma. The moral is not to trust your neighbors.

2. Mary and Ben’s lives were touched by Sharon and Kenny. This seems to be what the author was going for, but that somehow rubs me even worse. It’s like the manic pixie dream girl trope: Kenny and Sharon and destroyed so this middle class couple can fix their marriage.

I like the twist that they broke into the house,

 but it seems the play stops just short of reaching its potential. And it’s good, don’t get me wrong. Maybe it would be better with 9 or 10 scenes instead of 8.

belinda_h's review

mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

not_mike's review

2.0

Play.
4 actors.
A neighborhood. Substance abuse. Disconnection in contemporary society. A bit with someone pretending to be from the U.K. Finding or not finding a community. Just ok.

dkrane's review

4.0

Insightful, honest, surprising, with a fun whiff of danger to boot.

rachel_mock's review

1.0

Honestly, not a fan. There's some interesting stuff in here. But the characters seem a tad bit superficial, and Ms. D'Amour's habit of using questions in her stage directions got very grating. There are large monologues for both women, though they may not work out of context. An interesting read, but nothing I need to return to unless I pull a monologue from it.

rebadee's review

3.0

D'Amour's Detroit has plenty of plot twists and turns to keep readers/audiences holding their breath from scene to scene. I was not drawn as deeply into this work as I'd hoped, though there is plenty to enjoy on the surface. I wanted more from the characters and dialogue, and less from the stage and background notes.

teadoherty's review

tense medium-paced

3.5

bkelrod's review

3.0

Hmm much to think about. I was entertained! Pretty crazy at the end there! I think it will ill named, not really central to Detroit (even mentions that it doesn't need to be set in Detroit) and I don't really care about the white middle class! Ben and Mary's relationship was what the play was about, but I didn't really care about them at the end of it all. Interesting exploration of addiction and poverty, but when that addiction and poverty is just there to help out the white middle class couple.... that's kinda rude ya know.