The Off-Broadway premiere of Dominique Morisseau's Paradise Blue will now play an additional week at The Pershing Square Signature Center. Tony winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson, who directed the world premiere at the Williamstown Theater Festival in 2015, helms a company led by Dear Evan Hansen's Kristolyn Lloyd.
Paradise Blue will begin previews April 24 ahead of a May 14 opening night. Previously scheduled through June 3 in The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre, the production will now play through June 10.
The company also features Francois Battiste (Head of Passes), J. Alphonse Nicholson (Luke Cage), and Keith Randolph Smith (Malcolm X, Jitney).
Set in Detroit’s gentrifying Blackbottom neighborhood in 1949, the new play looks at the changes a community endures to find its resilience. The story follows Blue, a troubled trumpeter and the owner of Paradise Club, who is torn between remaining in Blackbottom with his loyal lover Pumpkin and leaving behind a traumatic past.
Paradise Blue is the first play of Morisseau’s Signature Residency, which will include three productions over the course of five years.
The creative team includes Neil Patel (scenic design), Clint Ramos (costume design), Rui Rita (lighting design), Darron L West (sound design), Thomas Schall (fight direction), Kenny Rampton (original music), and Bill Sims, Jr. (music director). Laura Wilson is the production stage manager. Casting is by Caparelliotis Casting.
