Why ‘A Soldier’s Play’ Belongs on Broadway
Tony-winning director Kenny Leon on his new production of the Pulitzer-winning drama
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A Soldier’s Play is set on an Army base in Louisiana in 1944, when all branches of the U.S. military were still segregated by race. After the sadistic Sergeant Vernon Waters (played by David Alan Grier, who appeared in the original production and the movie in different roles) is murdered, Howard-educated Army lawyer Captain Richard Davenport (Blair Underwood) arrives to investigate the killing, much to the consternation of the base’s white commanding officer (Jerry O’Connell). Davenport’s mission is to lock up a suspect, but in many ways the black soldiers are already in a kind of captivity, relegated to menial tasks and constantly dehumanized. Leon underscores this idea through blues and prison songs performed by the cast. A Soldier’s Play isn’t just period-piece whodunit; it’s an exploration of racism and colorism that serves as a metaphor for the experience of being black in America today. “How challenging it’s been for blacks to be real citizens in our own country,” Leon says. “What that challenge is, has been and continues to be is a really relevant story.”
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Like the young men depicted in the play, Leon, 63, always believed he was capable of more than the establishment had him pegged for, thanks in large part to his grandmother. “When I was growing up, I didn’t have any intention of having a career as a director or producer; I didn’t have the vision for that,” he recalls. “I just knew that I was the product of a generation of prayers—my grandmother always prayed for her grandkids to have a better life than she did. So I knew I was gonna do something, and theatre sort of found me.”
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TDF MEMBERS: At press time, discount tickets were available for A Soldier’s Play. Go here to browse our current offers.
Regina Robbins is a writer, director, native New Yorker and Jeopardy! champion. She has worked with several NYC-based theatre companies and is currently a Core Company Member with Everyday Inferno Theatre.
Top image: Blair Underwood in A Soldier’s Play. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Regina Robbins is a writer, director, native New Yorker and Jeopardy! champion. She has worked with several NYC-based theatre companies and is currently a Core Company Member with Everyday Inferno Theatre.