“The Central Park Five” opera made a stop at the Detroit Opera House on May 10, 16, and 18, 2025. This is a true story which happened on April 19, 1989 when a jogger in Central Park was assaulted and raped.
The opera (which the conversations were sung) highlights injustice faced by five boys (four black and one Latino) who were in Central Park because they were bored and just hanging out. The police officer (Daniel Belcher) received calls and watched on television the series of events of the assault and ordered police cars to investigate.
The boys eventually get caught and find themselves in a holding cell. As the police questions them, he advises the Assistant District Attorney (Catherine Martin) to further question them. The Five (Kevin: Freddie Ballentine, Raymond: Chaz’men Williams-Ali, Korey: Nathan Granner, Yusef: Markel Reed, and Antron: Justin Hopkins) wonder what they are in there for. The interrogation intensifies as the Police and Assistant District Attorney wants the truth. The boys were assured that if they admit to it, they would go home. So they did admit to it.
Donald Trump (Todd Strange) enters the picture speaking to a group of white supporters and tells them he wants to back the Police and demands the death penalty. In other words, he fueled the fire. The charges made headlines all over the country.
The white woman jogger in question, Trisha Meili, wakes up in bed in the hospital and the five boys are ecstatic. They hope should would tell the world that they were not the attackers. However, she does not remember who attacked her.
After admission of guilt, the four boys go to prison for seven years and the oldest, Korey, goes for 13 years. While in prison, Korey is approached by Matias Reyes, who admits to committing the assault and rape.
In the end, the Central Park Five were exonerated and returned home. The lone perpetrator was convicted on DNA evidence. The Central Park Five sued Donald Trump for defamation and was awarded $41 million dollars.
The musical score had elements of jazz and contemporary classical music. The opera highlighted the flawed criminal justice system and prejudice. I was intrigued by this case which prompted me to research it further.
For more info about upcoming shows at the Detroit Opera House, go to: www.detroitopera.org.
