SKELETON CREW (SK) @ the Atlantic Theater is a bare bones, gut wrenching play. It's a contemporary piece exposing worker's lives in a crumpling auto-assembly co. in the moribund Detroit area. Dominique Morisseau is an Amer playwright (b. Detroit 1978.) Her plays have earned numerous awards including the Kennedy Prize for Drama ('14.) Her most recent play SKELETON CREW, is the 3rd & final theatrical piece of "The Detroit Series" which included DETROIT '67 & PARADISE BLUE. I didn't catch either but I did see SUNSET BABY @ the Labyrinth. SK is a raw play with 4 actors (& an incredible robotic dancer.) The dancer/choreographer, A Osakalumi (B'wy Fela) emphasized the industrialized/ dehumanizing work environment. His dancing was mesmerizing & integral to the artistry of the production. The entire aesthetic of SK is a powerhouse of combustible energy written with force & poetic beauty. The single set staging is in the shabby employee locker room/ lounge where 3 auto workers & their supervisor construct verbal warfare while striking base human emotions & needs. Reggie is the supervisor of 3 company employees (who were far superior actors.) Faye (Lynda Gravatt, Bwy Cat on a…) is the union leader, Dez (Jason Dirden, B'wy "Raisin" & Fences) and Shanita (a riveting Nikiya Mathis.) Faye is the wise & wizened leader. She vicariously walks the line between management/worker while scraping pay check to pay check. Dez carries ambition, charm & ammunition (in his backpack.) Shanita is pregnant & on an emotional roller coaster. The sexual banter between her & Dez (not the baby daddy) is bristling with intensity. Faced with mounting fear of impending layoffs, desperation constantly builds. "How can you do battle without being caught in the skirmish?" Morisseay intelligent and engaging play is a muscular medium for social change. Her writing, worthy of a Pulitzer, connects you like a cog into the assemblage of humanity.
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