The Raven theatre has never disappointed me. Their performances strike an emotional chord with their audiences and their actors are among the best I’ve seen in Chicago. On a rainy Monday night, A Soldier’s Play premiered with mixed reviews, but from my perspective, this play is timeless and one you shouldn't miss.
When Captain Davenport, a black man with Captain bars in a white man’s army, comes to a segregated WWII-era Louisiana base to investigate a murder, the interrogation of the soldiers uncovers a web of contempt, expectation, and hatred. The play tackles the tough subjects of racism within races in the heat of the deep south. The play was written by Charles Fuller and premiered Off-Broadway in 1981, less than 20 years after the Civil Rights Act passed and less than 40 years after the end of WWII. Through the interactions between white and black soldiers, and amongst the black soldiers themselves, you can cut the tension with a knife and Captain Davenport, wonderfully played by Frank Pete, tries to unravel the mystery of who murdered Sergeant Vernon C Waters, wonderfully played by Antoine Pierre Whitfield.
The story follows Captain Davenport onto the Army base. We know nothing of what transpired other than Sergeant Waters being shot, but through interviews with the Privates on the base and their flashbacks we begin to see the events that led to the murder of the Sergeant and the palpable hatred that flowed in his veins towards his own soldiers and his own race. Waters is in charge of a black unit which is also the baseball team. They are allowed to fight in the war, but demeaned into playing ball for their white peers and, when not on the baseball diamond, cleaning up after them. One of the most tense and trying scenes of the play is told in a flashback by Private James Wilkie (Bradford Stevens), in which Sergeant Waters recounts his time spent as a black soldier during WWI, and his venomous thoughts towards a "typical" black Private under his command. Waters hatred stems from his inability to understand why people of his own race refuse to want to better themselves by learning to read, write, or anything else that would help them compete with their wither "superiors". The flashback makes your skin crawl and Whitfield does a superb job portraying the character, in fact you’d actually believe he had those feelings himself, but that, after all, is the craft of the actor.
Director Michael Menendian had quite a task on his hands. A Pulitzer Prize winning play, with an original cast that originally included Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson and Adolph Caesar, the feat to bring A Soldier’s Play to life at The Raven was no small task. But the director succeeded with an excellent cast, seamless set design, and impeccable blocking. Menendian really brought the WWII Army base to life. At times, we were so enthralled with the scene, that you would forget characters blacked out on stage, though they were the characters recounting the scenes we were watching. The fight scenes were so realistic, you’d forgotten it was just excellent fake stage combat. Much of that is written in the play already, but this cast and its Director brought a fresh energy to the performance.
A Soldier’s Play had quite the challenge: a rich play pedigree, sensitive material, a challenging emotional depth, but I believe it met that challenge, and most definitely earned its stripes. A Soldier’s Play is playing at The Raven Theater (6157 N. Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60660) through March 30th. Enlist today and see this play while it lasts.
