Theater Review: ‘Paradise Blue’ by Dominique Morisseau. Directed by Chuck Smith. Presented by Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe through Feb. 8. 1012 N. Orange Ave., Sarasota. Reviewed Jan. 11, 2026. 941-366-1505; westcoastblacktheatre.org

It takes a while to warm up to Dominique Morisseau’s 2018 drama “Paradise Blue” at the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe, yet even as you get into the spirit of the story, it still feels like something is missing.

Watching the play at the Jan. 11 matinee, I rarely felt I had a handle on the characters or the situations because the performances don’t always bring out the full range of possibilities under the staging by resident director Chuck Smith.

“Paradise Blue,” part of a trilogy of plays by Morisseau set in Detroit, is about decay, demons and music. It takes place in 1949 at the Paradise blues and jazz club in the city’s Paradise Valley entertainment area, which was known as Black Bottom. It’s a hub of musical possibilities and Black-owned businesses, and Paradise is owned by an apparently fine but troubled trumpeter named Blue, who inherited the place from his father.

Blue leads a quartet that includes the drummer P-Sam, the pianist Corn and a bass player who has just quit. But Blue is haunted by his tragic past, including the death of his father. The Black neighborhood is being eyed for gentrification amid a desire by some city leaders for a racial cleansing, and Blue sees an opportunity to make a fresh start in Chicago by selling his club for quick cash to developers. But what impact does that decision have on the other characters in his life?

His inner demons make it difficult for Blue to play with the skill and finesse that he and his bandmates expect, as we see in a few moments when Al’Jaleel McGhee is seen in the shadows reaching for that perfect note (or what Corn calls the “love supreme”). It would be helpful if McGhee looked like he was at least trying to play the trumpet to the recorded music, but he essentially holds the instrument to his lips and occasionally moves a finger over the three keys. He doesn’t look like he’s even trying to blow into it.

McGhee does capture a sense of the tension and turmoil that is bubbling within Blue as the play develops, with highs and lows and explosive outbursts. Even the encouragement of Blue’s doting girlfriend, Pumpkin (Amber Myers), isn’t enough to calm his frayed nerves.

Pumpkin is referred to as a “go-along girl” because she doesn’t like to make trouble or waves, until she’s coaxed out of her shell by someone like the more aggressively exotic Silver (Stephanie Zandra), the outsider among the characters who has her own ambitious agenda.

I enjoyed the natural rapport between Terry Spann as Corn and Leon Pitts II as P-Sam (who plays the drums a bit). But I wasn’t sure what to make of Pumpkin. Myers plays her as appropriately meek and subservient at first, but even when she takes a stand, her actions don’t have a strong sense of purpose.

Silver is playing a character who might fit right into a film noir story, but she doesn’t fully convey the sensual allure she needs to manipulate the men around her, which minimizes the mystery about her.

The production features an original jazz score by Dan Sandler-Wells presented as if it were being played live but heard in a well-produced recording). There were times when I hoped the energy of the performances and staging would match the fluidity and spirit of the music.

There are elements to the story reminiscent of Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun,” with the debate over how to use a personal investment to best advantage. Morisseau takes her story in its own direction. By the end, you feel a sense of loss and waste, but also puzzlement about how things go so wrong.