In a "first ring" suburb outside a midsize American city, Ben and Mary fire up the grill to welcome the new neighbors who've moved into the long-empty house next door. The fledgling friendship soon veers out of control, shattering the fragile hold that newly unemployed Ben and burgeoning alcoholic Mary have on their way of life―with unexpected comic consequences. Detroit is a fresh, offbeat look at what happens when we dare to open ourselves up to something new. After premiering at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre last year to rave reviews, Lisa D'Amour's brilliant and timely play moves to Broadway this fall. “This scary-funny comedy . . . speaks to the fractious, frightened American moment more perceptively than any play I've seen on a New York stage.” ― Charles Isherwood, The New York Times “ Detroit is a brilliantly observed piece of art about a particular time and place. That time is now--and by now I mean the current post-recessionary America. That place is a pair of backyards in the suburb of a great American city that has been rocked on its heels.” ― Chris Jones, The Chicago Tribune Lisa D’Amour is an Obie Award–winning playwright and one half of PearlDamour, an interdisciplinary performance company she runs with Katie Pearl. Her play  Detroit was a Pulitzer Prize Finalist. Her work has been produced by theaters such as Steppenwolf Theatre, Children’s Theater Company, Clubbed Thumb, the Walker Arts Center, and the Kitchen. D’Amour received her MFA in playwriting from the University of Texas at Austin and currently splits her time between Brooklyn and New Orleans. DETROIT (Chapter One)Scene 1 Lights Up. SHARON and KENNY are in MARY and BEN's backyard. They sit in newish-looking lawn chairs--part of a set from somewhere like Home Depot. MARY struggles to get a patio umbrella to go up as she speaks. It's in the middle of the table and it's heavy. There is a grill nearby. MARY And the man with the birthmark looked up and slid a handwritten receipt across the table to me. He said, "Is there anything else I can help you with?" and I said no thank you and I turned and walked out onto the wooden pier and I saw a very old seagull swoop down into the water and eat a fish. SHARON How did you know it was old? MARY I just knew. KENNY And the bank was an old card table on the edge of an abandoned boardwalk? MARY And all the deposits went into an Adidas shoebox the banker kept under the table. SHARON They make those shoes in Germany. I went there for a week on this high school trip and everyone wanted to buy them. We all thought they were cheaper over there. I didn't buy any. MARY (under her breath) Shit. Shit shit shit. KENNY Can I help you with that? MARY No. I'll be right back. MARY goes inside. KENNY and SHARON sit in the chairs in silence. They hardly even look at each other. The sounds we hear: birds. A lawn mower in the distance. A clanging sound, like someone fixing something. A siren that we hear and quickly fades. MARY comes out with BEN following her. BEN has a pan full of meat, some kind of steaks. MARY is kind of in a tizzy. MARY I hold it up and I press the button, but nothing works. Sometimes it stays for like two seconds, but then it falls down again. BEN fools with the umbrella. They all watch. He pulls his hands away. The umbrella stays up. Pause. BEN Wa-lah. SHARON laughs just a couple of laughs. No one else laughs. MARY It's funny, when you first moved in, we didn't know if anyone was actually living next door. Ben swore he saw someone coming and going. But at weird times. And the sheets stayed up for so long it still looked empty. It was driving him crazy! So when I saw you yesterday morning, I knew I had to grab you and tell you that we didn't know you were there, that's why we didn't stop by to say hello. SHARON We're still not totally moved in. The house belongs to his aunt. KENNY Belonged to my aunt. She passed away. MARY Oh, that was your aunt? KENNY We're renting it for a while before they sell. SHARON We'll probably buy it, though. BEN That's the way to do it, from a friend or family member. You can avoid a lot of closing costs. KENNY That's what they say. SHARON So yes, it's a new start! I mean, we don't have any furniture even! MARY Oh, everybody says that--"We don't have any furniture." KENNY Well-- BEN There are some good outlet stores over on 265. That's where I got my TV chair. MARY Oh wait. I've got something! MARY goes inside. She has a little trouble with the sliding glass door. She is just inside the house, so she can call back to the group. SHARON Such a great backyard. MARY (calling from inside) Isn't it great? BEN Thanks, we love it. It sold us on the neighborhood. SHARON Hey, who is the woman who jogs around the neighborhood in the hot pink jogging outfit? MARY What? SHARON Who is the woman who jogs around the neighborhood in the hot pink jogging outfit? MARY I don't know. I've never seen her. Ben, have you seen this woman? Jogging? BEN No, I don't think so. There are a