In Dominique Morisseau's Paradise Blue, the year is 1949, Detroit's Black Bottom neighborhood hasn't yet been demolished to make way for a highway, and the city's jazz joints are piping with potential. That heat draws femme fatale Silver (Cycerli Ash) from far away New Orleans, and she saunters into the play's Paradise Club with a knowing eye, asking for a room to rent.

Despite the area's energy, Paradise is struggling, as evidenced by a sign in the window seeking a new bassist for its four-piece house band. The fault for this lies with Blue (Mikell Sapp), the club's owner and trumpet player. An inheritor of his father's club, name, and controlling temperament, Blue quietly wrestles one more demon: He's considering selling Paradise Club to make way for a highway.

Paradise Blue is a noir

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