Marshawn Bingham gestures toward the ink-covered wall in The Station Theatre’s dressing room, where past productions have left their mark. Soon, he and his castmates will add their names there, too.
Bingham plays Dez in “Skeleton Crew,” a powerful drama by Haitian-American playwright Dominique Morisseau about Detroit auto workers navigating economic uncertainty and moral dilemmas as their stamping plant nears closure.
The production opened Thursday and runs through Feb. 16 as part of The Station Theatre’s 2024-25 season, which explores stories of the American Dream.
Bingham highlighted the importance of the play opening during Black History Month, as it’s the first show with a fully Black cast and director at the theater since 1971.
“To be a part of that warms my heart because it means a lot to me,” Bingham said. “In the sense that I call the theater home, and I feel like my home represents me now, and there is a part of me here.”
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The cast and crew expressed their gratitude for the lessons learned under the guidance of director Lisa Gaye Dixon, Professor Emerita in FAA.
Ari Roseman, assistant director and junior in FAA, shared her experience working with Dixon.
“She just really pours life into people,” Roseman said. “The way that she speaks to you just makes you feel better about being yourself, and it makes you feel better about taking space in the world, using your voice.”
The team expressed how much effort they put into this emotional and intense story. For some, the play holds special significance.
Tyren Ollie, freshman in FAA, plays the complex character of Reggie. It’s a full-circle moment — he was in the play in high school and even saw director Dixon at The Chicago Theatre.
“‘Skeleton Crew’ changed me,” Ollie said. “It was the last play I did before I was like, ‘I want to pursue acting as a career.’ It changes what you perceive what theater has to be.”
Thanks to The Station Theatre’s intimate setting, “Skeleton Crew” immerses the audience in the plant’s break room, where personal struggles blend intense drama with moments of unexpected humor.
Even though “Skeleton Crew” premiered during Black History Month, the cast and crew emphasize that important stories like this shouldn’t be confined to just one month. The play’s themes of economic struggle, moral dilemmas and resilience are universally relatable.
“(This play) made me see that theater can be life,” Ollie said. “You can see yourself on that stage. So I say even if you don’t particularly like theater, I feel like you should still come see ‘Skeleton Crew.’”
These are stories that resonate with people of all backgrounds, and they remind us that the American Dream — and the challenges it entails — affects everyone, regardless of race or history.
