Detroit ’67 takes place nearly 50 years ago in that Motor and Music Mecca in Michigan, 656 miles away from Chapel Hill. The subject matter, however, feels immediate to us now as similar stories play out just down the road at this very moment. For David Adamson, the events of Detroit ’67 are especially close. David and his wife were living in Detroit in 1967.

DirectorLisa Rothe has been captivated by the story of Detroit '67 since she saw its premiere in 2013 at the Public Theater. "At the heart of it all is a family, and everyone can relate to that on some level. We experience their love, anger, joy, loneliness, passion & rage as if it were our own," she relates.

Take a listen to PlayMakers’ playlist as you get ready to see the show, and enjoy the soundtrack of Detroit in 1967.

Despite a history of prosperity, technological innovations, a powerful and lasting Union Movement, and a rich influence on the arts and music scene, Detroit was not immune to the racial tensions, economic disparity and civil unrest of the late 60s. On Sunday, July 23 in 1967, when the 12th Street riot erupted in the early hours after a raid on an unlicensed after-hours bar, the fate of this once booming blue collar town took a turn for the worse.

“I’m a native Detroiter, so this is a way to explain my history and my city. It’s an important landscape to me. It helped to shape the landscape we have now. I wanted to offer a human face to it for all of us - those of us who have lived there and those who have not.” -Dominique Morriseau

Dramaturg Jacqueline E. Lawton sat down with a panel of students and faculty after the October 2nd matinee performance of to discuss connections and similarities between the play and recent events concerning the black community and police brutality in Charlotte, NC.