Jazz-inspired film noir ‘Paradise Blue’ at Ensemble Theatre packs a punch
With a cleverly designed set, a steamy plot, and characters that are hard to forget, the film noir-influenced “Paradise Blue” at The Ensemble Theatre is a riveting and moving play centering on Detroit’s Club Paradise, a combination jazz club and boarding house that has a lot of conflict. There is conflict between band members, conflict between Blue, the owner, a woman he loves, and a woman he despises. These hostilities are accompanied by the inner conflicts of each character, which intensify as the plot unfolds.
Set in 1949, the play is written by playwright and co-producer of “Shameless,” Dominique Morisseau, and is part of her three-play cycle known as “The Detroit Project.” Deftly directed by Eileen J. Morris, this play operates like a welloiled machine. This production seemed seamless despite a lot of moving parts, even as the plot thickens.
When the show opens, we see a trumpet player under a spotlight, and then, BAM! Out of nowhere a shot is fired. Hard to get more “noir” than that.
Larry Wesley’s efficient and realistic set displays a bar with chairs and round tables, a drum set and a piano, and, in the background, a bedroom. The posters of famous musicians on the wall (such as Billie Holiday) add to the atmosphere.
Blue, in a striking performance by Jason E. Carmichael, seethes with irritation when he cannot control a situation. Yet he sometimes elicits sympathy from the audience as well. He has endured profound trauma and is intimidating, with his mercurial nature and gruff demeanor keeping the audience on edge.
Pumpkin, played by a superlative Crystal Rae, is not just a barmaid, but also Blue’s longtime codependent girlfriend, who has a talent for language, performance, and singing, but allows her fears and insecurities to dominate her decisions. She self-sabotages and pushes people away and is always thinking about how to keep Blue happy. Her optimism in the face of conflict (Blue has “daddy’s demons”) gives her character a poignancy and force that is memorable. Rae’s performance is detailed, with her awkward physical movements making us even more concerned about Pumpkin and her well-being around volatile Blue.
But Rae can also pull off physical comedy, and Pumpkin’s mocking impersonation of the seductive Silver (an impressive Liz Rachelle) — the femme fatale of the play — is a funny and unforgettable moment. Silver slithers into the club in her fur and heels and makeup and cigarettes. She is an opportunist, as “free as the Mississippi River” who has designs on buying the club.
Rumors surround her every move, ranging from the belief that she shot a man, is a “sexy spider,” and a “voodoo woman from Louisiana.” She befriends Pumpkin, and has glamour, worldliness, and a fancy record player. Corn, played by Curtis Von, is a perfect straight man, who is seduced and enraptured by Silver, even as he tries to keep the peace among the musicians in the club.
P-Sam, played by the superlative Brandon Morgan, channels the frustration of an ambitious musician at the end of his rope with the state of his quartet. He easily moves from being hopping mad to sweetness while talking to Pumpkin, and then from happy he has found a bass player to furious about Blue’s plans to “sell out,” thus affecting everyone in the club.
While the plot is entertaining with a shocking moment that ends the play with no firm conclusions, it’s the ensemble of five actors that really makes this play. Let’s face it: film noiresque plays can easily devolve into parody at the drop of a glove or a cigarette. But these fine actors keep the train on the tracks, and it is a delight to watch all of them inhabit their characters in the world of “Paradise Blue.”