Paradise Blue at Gloucester Stage (a.k.a. Gorton Theatre)

Paradise Blue

Gloucester Stage (a.k.a. Gorton Theatre)
267 East Main Street Gloucester

Blue, a gifted trumpeter, contemplates selling his once-vibrant jazz club in Detroit's Blackbottom neighborhood - it's 1949 and gentrification is banging on the door. The house band is desperate to stay, Blue's demons are tempting him to leave, and the arrival of a seductive stranger turns everything upside down. This dynamic and musically-infused drama shines light on the challenges of building a better future on the foundation of what our predecessors have left us.

Thru - Sep 18, 2022

Wednesdays: 7:30pm

Thursdays: 7:30pm

Fridays: 7:30pm

Saturdays: 3:00pm & 7:30pm

Sundays: 3:00pm

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 978-281-4433

gloucesterstage.com/paradise-blue/

Gloucester Stage (a.k.a. Gorton Theatre) Seating Chart

Paradise Blue Reviews

Average Rating based on 3 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

WBUR - Somewhat Recommended

"...Ultimately though, Blue’s story feels a little undone. A few measures of horn-playing and a couple of emotional scenes only touch the surface of what’s really happening with Blue. The audience learns more about his character from others onstage rather than Blue himself, and what he’s seen and contending with might be more impactful if he got to tell his own truths. What’s most compelling about the story for this audience member is the demolition of the once thriving neighborhood and all the livelihoods the destruction extinguished."

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- Jacquinn Sinclair

The Arts Fuse - Somewhat Recommended

"...Co-directors Elise Joyner and Logan Pitts and the GSC cast members are also tasked by Morisseau’s ambitious and nuanced script. Early on in the run, the performances still need time to gel. As Blue, Lyons is too brooding too often. He suggests the character’s troubled soul but he does not give us a sense that Blue is a businessman who could successfully operate a popular club. Garey eventually scores as the outsider P-Sam, especially with his final plea that “we all make Paradise.” But for much of the proceedings the actor’s high energy gets in the way of his delivery. King scores with Silver’s sexy slink, but the she needs to do more to reveal the emotional depth suggested in Morisseau’s dialogue. Thomas, as Corn, supplies the most rooted characterization — a usefully gentle counterpoint to Blue’s bedeviled bombast."

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- David Geenham

New England Theater Mirror - Recommended

"...Paradise Blue may not be on a par with Morisseau’s brilliant Skeleton Crew,(which ran at the Huntington in 2018) but the performances and storylines make for a solid evening’s entertainment, and it’s great excuse to take a late summer ride up to the Cape Ann coast."

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- Michael Hoban

Paradise Blue at Gloucester Stage (a.k.a. Gorton Theatre)

Paradise Blue

Paradise Blue Reviews

WBUR - Somewhat Recommended

The Arts Fuse - Somewhat Recommended

New England Theater Mirror - Recommended

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