DETROIT, Mich.–Steven Simoncic’s Ghost Gardens would most likely give audiences food for thought no matter where it was performed.

But there is something especially compelling about seeing a play about urban plight at a theatre in the very midst of such issues. While there’s no cancer-causing toxic factory in the neighborhood surrounding the venerable Detroit Repertory Theatre on Woodrow Wilson Street near the Davison Freeway, the theater is a bright spot in an area with far fewer residents than when it opened in 1963. Like the hardy character in the play, the theatre is a survivor as the only fully professional non-profit theatre in Detroit. The theatre averages about 60,000 admissions each year.

Playwright Simoncic lived in Michigan when he was resident artist at The Purple Rose Theatre and he holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan. So, chances are the play is based on actual exposure to the urban decay that Detroit is slowly coming out from under. After years of population declines, the numbers are holding steady at the moment, according to the mayor’s office. But the characters in Ghost Gardens encountered Detroit during its worst before its fairly recent renaissance.

Lorelie has tried to get pregnant for 10 years, and for 10 years she has failed. But that changes in Act One when she announces to the world that she is finally having a baby… and that changes everything.

The play examines health, culture and socioeconomics with humor, pathos, deer ticks, dance contests, and the occasional dream about Loretta Lynn, weaving fantasy and reality into a story that pits redemption against destruction and hope against hopelessness.

Every single character is compelling in a different way and there is no weakest link among the actors. All give heartfelt performances, especially Leah Smith, as the Lorelie.

Cornell Markham plays Powder, a pimp-turned-preacher looking for redemption. He shows such conviction that you often forget he’s acting. He’s likable despite his cocky facade. The same goes for Will Bryson who plays Lonnie, an ex-con trying to make a go of it post-release. His sermon near the end of the second act is a show stopper. If acting doesn’t work out, Bryson should consider getting an actual congregation because he really knows how to hold an audience.

Lorelie’s best friend Myra, played by Jenaya Jones Reynolds, gives her a shoulder to cry on as well as no shortage of advice, including one piece that proves pivotal to the play’s poignant ending.

Linda Rabin Hammell plays Lorelie’s terminally ill mother, Helen. While she wasn’t always the “perfect mother,” she tries to mend her ways and boost Lorelie’s self-esteem in ways she neglected when she was a nerdy child growing up.

Aral Gribble plays Lorelie’s man-child husband Tryg, who seems to fall further and further from grace as the play progresses. Every play needs an antagonist, and Gribble’s treatment of Lorelie’s poor choice of a mate only adds to the inevitable sympathy the audience feels for her and her predicament.

The play features some strong language which is not uncommon in the inner city and really only adds to the authenticity of the character’s and their dilemmas.

Despite having its fair share of comedic moments, this is not a play that ties everything up into a neat and tidy package at the end. But that’s ok, because that often doesn’t happen in life. Ghost Gardens may refer to the urban blight in Detroit, but these strong performances and script show that the ghosts are on the run in Detroit Rep’s corner of the city.

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