Paradise Blue is a captivating play by Dominique Morriseau directed by Don Williams that you won't want to miss! Join us at the Oldemeyer Center for an unforgettable in-person event. Get ready to immerse yourself in a story filled with drama, music, and powerful performances. Don't wait, secure your tickets now and experience the magic of Paradise Blue live on stage!

This production is made possible by a generous grant from Monterey Peninsula Foundation in partnership with UCSC and the African American Theater Troupe. Tickets are free but reservations are required.

Paradise Blue
This dynamic and musically-infused drama shines light on the challenges of building a better future on the foundation of what our predecessors have left u

It’s 1949 and club-owner and trumpeter Blue must choose between escaping his demons and the human cost of leaving the only home he’s ever known.

."Blue, a gifted trumpeter, contemplates selling his once-vibrant jazz club in Detroit's Blackbottom neighborhood to shake free the demons of his past and better his life. But where does that leave his devoted Pumpkin, who has dreams of her own? And what does it mean for the club's resident bebop band?

**This production contains mature language, simulated violence, theatrical haze, and herbal cigarettes. This production also includes gunshot effects.**

PLAYWRIGHT

DOMINIQUE MORISSEAU

Dominique Morisseau was one of the top twenty most-produced playwrights in the United States in the 2015-16 season. Her play Pipeline was commissioned by Steppenwolf Theater and premiered at Lincoln Center Theatre. Her three-play cycle The Detroit Project consists of Skeleton Crew (Atlantic

Theater Company), Paradise Blue (Signature Theatre), and Detroit ’67 (Public Theater, Classical Theatre of Harlem, and National Black Theatre). Her other plays include Sunset Baby (LAByrinth Theatre), Blood at the Root (National Black Theatre), and Follow Me to Nellie’s (Premiere Stages). She wrote the book for the new musical Ain’t Too Proud—The Life and Times of the Temptations (Berkeley Repertory Theatre). She is an alumna of the Public Theater Emerging Writer’s Group, Women’s Project Lab, and Lark Playwrights Workshop, and has developed work at Sundance Lab, Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Eugene O’Neil Playwrights Conference. Her work has been commissioned by Women’s Project, South Coast Rep, People’s Light and Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and Penumbra Theatre. She recently served as co-producer on the Showtime series Shameless. She has received the Spirit of Detroit Award, PoNY Fellowship, Sky-Cooper Prize, TEER Trailblazer Award, Steinberg Playwright Award, Audelco Awards, NBFT August Wilson Playwriting Award, Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama, OBIE Award, and Ford Foundation Art of Change Fellowship,