A friendly suburban barbecue spirals into a delirious, dangerous bacchanal in the superb play “Detroit,” by Lisa D’Amour, which sizzled at a New York theater Tuesday night.
Theater critic Charles Isherwood called "Detroit" a "sharp X-ray of the embattled American psyche as well as a smart, tart critique of the country’s fraying social fabric."
He wrote "Ms. D’Amour’s dark comedy is as rich and addictively satisfying as a five-layer dip served up with a brimming bowl of tortilla chips."
As the country continues to grind through the worst downturn in generations, “Detroit” remains acute in its observation of the effects of economic uncertainty on a middle-class couple, played to perfection by Amy Ryan and David Schwimmer. The fall theater season is young as a newborn babe, but Ms. D’Amour’s play, both disturbing and bracingly funny, kicks things off with a promising burst of fireworks.
Detroit is a metaphor. The action takes place in "a nameless suburb outside a midsize American city."
