Unlocking Desire is a play by Barbara Neri, directed by John Jakary and cast with ten of the Detroit metro area’s finest actors.  It will have its world premiere in a multimedia site specific production at Detroit’s Marlene Boll Theater (located at 1401 Broadway in the Downtown YMCA) this September 23 and run for nine performances till October 8.

2011 marks the 100th anniversary of playwright Tennessee Williams’ birth and Unlocking Desire is in part a fascinating homage to him.

At first blush, it seems to imagine Tennessee Williams’ tragic heroine Blanche DuBois after A Streetcar Named Desire.  The setting is an institution where she could have been taken. Blanche meets disparate inmates there who orbit around her.  They evoke shadow characters in Williams’ play and people from his life, fleshing out the circumstances that began her downward spiral and that are still in play today.  Secrets are unlocked, questions answered, but all is not as it seems.

Neri’s play is ultimately a wholly original work, a poetic and intelligent play that will surprise and entertain as it provokes further thought.

John Jakary is well known for his innovative, award-winning direction of numerous plays at Detroit’s former Zeitgeist Gallery and Performance Venue and this production marks his return.

Barbara Neri, a published playwright and interdisciplinary artist, has been creating and producing work professionally in the theater since 1982.  Neri conducted research for Unlocking Desire on the streets of New Orleans and in The Historic New Orleans Collection.  Sound, photography and video collected in New Orleans, along with HNOC archival images edited by Alivia Zivich, will be part of this visually striking Detroit production.

Elisa Limberg a scenic designer from Berlin, Germany and a resident artist at Detroit’s 555 Gallery has created a site specific set design that will transform the Marlene Boll Theater.

Dave Early will design lighting.

Jomarie Soszinski, known for her historically accurate reproductions, is costume designer for the play.

Appropriate for high school age & up.

Performance Dates for Detroit Premiere Unlocking Desire

Marlene Boll Theater
1401 Broadway
Detroit MI, 48226

• Friday and Saturday, September 23 and 24 at 8PM
• Sunday September 25 at 3PM
• Friday and Saturday, September 30
• October 1 at 8PM
• Sunday Oct 2 at 3PM
• Thursday, Friday and Saturday—October 6, 7 and 8 at 8PM

Tickets will be sold at the door: $10 for students with ID, $15 for senior citizens 60 and older, and $20 for Adults.

To reserve tickets, @barbaraneri.com or call 734 878 2542

More Info http://www.unlockingdesire.com/

Contact for further information: Barbara Neri neri@htdconnect.com

Cast: Unlocking Desire
Blanche – Linda Rabin Hammell
Raoul – Eric Niece
Ozzie – Madelyn Porter
Hank – Sean Rodriguez
Rose – Kristen Wagner
Jim – J Michael Morgan
Violante – Yolanda Perez
The Doctor – Sean Paraventi
The Male Aide – Kenny Kono
Female Aide & Understudy – Krista Schafer