“A Soldier’s Play” Resonates Still

theatre review

PHOTO: Joan Marcus | The South Pasadenan | (From L) Howard Overshown, Malik Esoj Childs, Tarik Lowe, Eugene Lee, Will Adams, Sheldon D. Brown, and Branden Davon Lindsay in the National Tour of “A Soldier's Play” playing at Ahmanson Theatre May 23 through June 25, 2023.
PHOTO: Joan Marcus | The South Pasadenan | (From L) Howard Overshown, Malik Esoj Childs, Tarik Lowe, Eugene Lee, Will Adams, Sheldon D. Brown, and Branden Davon Lindsay in the National Tour of “A Soldier's Play” playing at Ahmanson Theatre May 23 through June 25, 2023.

Charles Fuller’s Pulitzer Prize winning “A Soldier’s Play” gets a powerful revival production that is now on stage at the Ahmanson Theater through June 25. It’s been 40 years since the play premiered at the Negro Ensemble Company starring a young Denzel Washington, yet this new version resonates today, perhaps even more than it did then. After an abbreviated run on Broadway, due to Covid, the show is now on a national tour starring Broadway veteran Norm Lewis.

PHOTO: Joan Marcus | The South Pasadenan | Norm Lewis as Captain Richard Davenport in the National Tour of “A Soldier's Play” playing at Ahmanson Theatre May 23 through June 25, 2023.
PHOTO: Joan Marcus | The South Pasadenan | Norm Lewis as Captain Richard Davenport in the National Tour of “A Soldier’s Play” playing at Ahmanson Theatre May 23 through June 25, 2023.

The scene is an army base in 1944 Louisiana where a black sergeant has been murdered. The play is an edge of your seat whodunnit that delves into the racism of the time as well as the complicated, deep-seated self-hatred that is often a result of it. It is first assumed that the local KKK is responsible but as the investigation digs in by way of interviews and flashbacks, the result is more and more questions and everyone becomes a suspect.

The black lawyer assigned to the case is a tough, no-nonsense Captain Richard Davenport, played with  quiet dignity by an intense and infinitely cool Lewis. While there is some music and singing in the way of military cadences and soulful songs sung in the barracks, I’m not sure there is a written singing introduction for Davenport. Regardless, I was grateful to even hear 30 seconds of Lewis’ velvet voice, arguably one of the very best on Broadway. There were audible sighs in the audience such is the effect his voice has on the listener. But his speaking voice is just as powerful and packs a punch that is equally effective in the subtle, nuanced moments and the more combative, confrontational scenes.

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PHOTO: Joan Marcus | The South Pasadenan | (From L) Sheldon D. Brown, Branden Davon Lindsay, and Will Adams in “A Soldier's Play” playing at Ahmanson Theatre May 23 through June 25, 2023.
PHOTO: Joan Marcus | The South Pasadenan | (From L) Sheldon D. Brown, Branden Davon Lindsay, and Will Adams in “A Soldier’s Play” playing at Ahmanson Theatre May 23 through June 25, 2023.

The base’s white commanding officer, played with crisp precision by William Connell, thinks a black lawyer will never get cooperation and therefore will be ineffective. He sees Davenport’s assignment as the powers that be brushing the incident under the rug. Davenport disagrees and is determined to see his mission through.

Director Kenny Leon deftly directs a crackerjack ensemble of strong, perfectly cast actors. We meet the murdered Sergeant Vernon Waters in flashbacks that reveal a hardened career military man who believes that the only way to be equal to the white man is to be better than him on every level and at all times. Anything less is deemed a weakness and a source of deep shame – intolerable to him to the point where he will do anything, including abuse, to squash it. He perceives this weakness in the simple minded Private C.J. Memphis (Sheldon D. Brown in a riveting performance), which leads him and eventually Davenport to unexpected conclusions. Eugene Lee captivates as the tortured Sergeant Waters. As part of the original cast, Lee brings a gravitas, depth and poignancy to the role.

Every actor shines in their role, infusing the proceedings with an authenticity that is mesmerizing. The stellar cast also includes Tarik Lowe, Branden Davon Lindsay, Will Adams, Alex Michael Givens, Howard W. Overshown, Malik Esoj Childs, Chattan Mayes Johnson, and Matthew Goodrich. It’s a non-stop military crime procedural with twist and turns that will have you fully invested in these men, what they went through and how we live today with the repercussions of this not so distant past.

“A Soldier’s Play” runs through June 25, 2023 at the Ahmanson Theatre located at 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A., CA 90012. Ticket Prices: $40 – $155 available online at CenterTheatreGroup.org, by calling Audience Services at (213) 972-4440 or in person at the Center Theatre Group Box Office.