Paradise Blue, the electric drama by award-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau, lands on stage in North Portland September 24 - November 2nd, 2025, in a co-production with Penumbra Theatre of St. Paul, MN. Directed by Lou Bellamy, the production promises a night steeped in jazz and charged with desire and buried truths.

A Story Set to Jazz

Detroit, 1949. In Black Bottom, a neighborhood pulsing with Black culture and artistry, Blue (a brilliant trumpeter wrestling with the weight of his past) fights to keep his jazz joint, the Paradise Club, alive. Gentrification is closing in, the pressure to sell mounts, and the arrival of a mysterious stranger called Silver stirs desires and tensions that could change everything.

It’s a tale that balances on the blue note between ambition and belonging, personal demons and communal dreams.

“Paradise Blue sings with both urgency and joy,” says Artistic Director, Brian Weaver. “It asks hard questions about survival and sacrifice, but it’s also a celebration of the pleasure and resilience found in art, music and community.”

Pleasure and Power on Stage

The heart of Morisseau's play sings through its women. Pumpkin embodies resilience and care, while Silver arrives unapologetically, stirring the lives of those around her. Their growth and strength anchor the story, showing the power of Black women’s voices in a world all too eager to silence them.

The production also hums the tune of Black excellence at every turn: from Morisseau’s writing, to Bellamy’s directorial vision, to the ensemble who bring the story to life on stage, Paradise Blue is as much a celebration as it is a reckoning.

Why You’ll Love It

The allure of Paradise Blue lies in the experience of being in a theatre that immerses you in the sound of live jazz, filling a noir-tinged atmosphere that feels like stepping into another world where you’ll discover a story that will pull you to the edge of your seat, ready for whatever comes next.

Resonance for Today

Though set in 1949, the play's themes land with undeniable relevance today: the displacement of Black neighborhoods, the cost of progress, and the fight to hold onto culture. Even as it confronts painful truths, Paradise Blue also revels in joy, love, and laughter as acts of defiance and survival from people – and music – that refuse to be erased.

The Details

Paradise Blue | By Dominique Morisseau | Directed by Lou Bellamy
A Co-Production with Penumbra Theatre, Saint Paul, MN

Dates: September 24 - November 2, 2025
Location: Portland Playhouse, 602 Prescott Street, Portland OR 97211
Tickets: $5 - $59.95
Info: www.portlandplayhouse.org/PDXParadise