topdog/underdog
Written by Suzan lori-Parks
A darkly comic fable of brotherly love
Directed By Yolanda D. Jack
TOPDOG/UNDERDOG tells the story of Lincoln and Booth as they struggle with work, women, and abandonment. Lincoln, who works at an arcade as a whiteface Abraham Lincoln impersonator, lives with his brother, Booth. The latter dreams about hitting the big time as a Three-Card Monte hustler, a preoccupation Lincoln once excelled in. They dream and scheme for a better life, while the ghosts of their past haunt them. Winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
October 27 - December 17, 2023
Curtain Times:
Please note new curtain times for Evening performances.
Fridays | 8 P.M.
Saturdays | 3 P.M. & 8 P.M.
Sundays | 2 P.M.
The Theatre always opens one hour before curtain time. Please arrive early as we have General Seating. The Rep is famous for starting exactly on time.
*Please note, due to the intimacy of the theatre, latecomers will not be seated.
The Playwright
SUZAN-LORI PARKS (Playwright) is the first African-American woman to receive the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Other awards include MacArthur Genius Grant, Gish Prize. Theatre: Topdog/Underdog (Pulitzer), Porgy and Bess (Tony Award), 365 Days/365 Plays, Father Comes Home from the Wars (Part 1, 2 & 3), Fucking A, Plays for the First Hundred Days, The Book of Grace, The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World aka the Negro Book Of The Dead, Venus, Unchain My Heart: The Ray Charles Musical, The America Play, Watch Me Work, In the Blood. Upcoming: Plays for the Plague Year. Film: The United States vs Billie Holiday, Girl 6. TV: “Genius Aretha” (Creator/Writer/Showrunner). Novel: Getting Mother’s Body. Parks writes songs and fronts her band Sula & The Noise. She is a former writing student of James Baldwin.
The Company
Yolanda D. Jack (Director) Ms. Jack is making her professional directoral debut with TOPDOG/UNDERDOG, but she is well known for her work as an actor on our stage, most recently for her work as Cynthia in SWEAT. She was also Kendra in DAUPHIN ISLAND, for which she won the Subscriber Award for Best Actress. Previous Rep productions: EVIDENCE OF THINGS UNSEEN, THE REALIZATION OF EMILY LINDER, A PARADISE OF FOOLS, FORGIVING JOHN LENNON, CAUSA MORTIS (OR THE MEDICAL STUDENT) and YEMAYA’S BELLY. She has worked at other Detroit area theaters including Performance Network, Planet Ant, Plowshares and Urban Spirit Theatre. She has a B.A. from Wayne State University. Love to her husband Phillip Jack and children Xavier and Nandi.
Will Street (Booth) Mr. Street is making a quick return to the Rep stage after his professional acting debut with the Rep’s production of SWEAT. A Detroit native, he is a playwright and poet. He has written, directed and acted in his own plays during his high school and college years. In the summer of 2023, he wrote, co-produced and acted in his own play, ‘ROUND MIDNIGHT’ at the newly revived Planet Ant Black Box Theatre. He studied at George Washington University before returning to his hometown. He is the DRT’s Box Office manager and executive assistant to the AD. He has immersed himself in all things Detroit Rep and he is continuing his adventure trodding the boards at the DRT.
Will Bryson (Lincoln) Will Bryson is excited to return to the “Barbara Busby Stage” at the Detroit Rep after his moving portrayal of Brucie in SWEAT. You may also have seen him in GHOST GARDENS, FIREPOWER and his debut at the Rep in BROTHER OF ALL, directed by Lynch Travis. Mr. Bryson earned his MFA in Classical Theatre from The George Washington University in Washington DC. He has a BFA in Theatre from Wayne State University. He has worked with Detroit Public Theatre, The Purple Rose Theatre, Theatre Nova, UDM Theatre Co. However, he considers the Rep home, and says “you are now our family. Welcome!”