“The Central Park Five,” a gripping opera by Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Anthony Davis, is coming to the Detroit Opera House for performances on May 10, 16 and 18. The opera tells the true story of five teenagers wrongfully convicted in one of the most infamous cases of racial injustice in recent American history.

Davis, who won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Music for the production, uses opera to examine themes of police brutality, coerced confessions, sexual violence and wrongful imprisonment. The opera follows Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Raymond Santana, and Korey Wise, five African American and Latino teens falsely accused and convicted of assaulting a white woman who was jogging in New York’s Central Park in 1989. 

The production, directed by Nataki Garrett for its Detroit run, opens with the five men reflecting on their lost youth. As the opera moves from Harlem to the chaos of Central Park on the night of the attack and the police precincts and courtrooms, it portrays their wrongful arrest, public vilification, conviction, and ultimate exoneration after serving years in prison. 

Davis is also the composer of “X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X,” which was presented by Detroit Opera in 2022. Detroit Opera will offer a complimentary opera and dance workshop prior to each performance, where experts will share more about the production. 

“American Black Journal” guest host Trudy Gallant-Stokes talks with Garrett about the details of the story and how it is brought to the stage in the form of an opera. They also discuss the opera’s composer and cast members. Plus, Garrett explains what she hopes audiences will take away from the story.