A Racially Charged Whodunnit

A Soldier’s Play

As the lights slowly begin coming up at the top of the show, we hear a haunting a cappella melody being sung by a shadowy group of figures. We soon come to realize that these are soldiers, lying around their barracks, passing the time. The song begins as a nostalgic, solo ballad, but ends as a rousing group anthem. It puts the audience in the right mood for the whodunit story that’s just as emotionally stirring and where far more is about to happen than initially meets the eye.

Based upon the late playwright’s own military experiences, Charles Fuller won this 1982 Pulitzer Prize in Drama for his stirring mystery story of racism. The play is set in 1944 at an Army base in Fort Neal, Louisiana which, at that time, was completely segregated. At the top of the play, a falling-down drunken African-American officer is murdered by an unseen assailant. His last words are, “They still hate you!” But the mystery remains and haunts this play: who committed this heinous crime? In attempting to solve the murder case we witness the effects racism has on both its victims, as well as those responsible for inflicting it. In his powerful drama, Fuller unveils a culture where these beliefs and behaviors have become so ingrained that, sadly, they’re practically taken for granted.

It’s safe to say that Sergeant Vernon Waters was uniformly disliked by everyone with whom he had contact. This complicated character, potently played by veteran actor, Eugene Lee, is consumed with self-loathing and bitter disappointment. Waters’ lifelong mission was to raise the station of the African-American in society. He directs his anger toward any member of his race who he doesn’t feel measures up to his standards and is fulfilling racist stereotypes. In his pursuit, Sergeant Waters becomes verbally, emotionally and sometimes physically abusive to the young soldiers under his command. His cantankerous, quarrelsome disposition created a multitude of enemies for the Sergeant, thus making it difficult to determine who took his life.

Enter Captain Richard Davenport, a respected Black Army officer and lawyer, who’s been sent to Louisiana to solve this case. Immediately, because this is the deep South during the 1940’s, the Klan is suspected of the crime. But Davenport, beautifully portrayed by accomplished Broadway actor Norm Lewis, has reason to believe otherwise. Naturally, two bigoted White soldiers, who were on patrol duty the night of the murder, come under suspicion. But as we get to know all of the young, African-American draftees under Sergeant Waters’s brutal command, each shows evidence of suspicion. 

Dressed in his crisp military uniform and aviator sunglasses, Mr. Lewis cuts an impressive figure filled with authority. While clashing with and defending his appointment to prejudiced Captain Taylor (effectively portrayed by William Connell), and thoroughly interviewing each of the young black soldiers, Davenport takes his assignment very seriously. He vows to solve this murder case as the officer in charge of the investigation.

Each of the supporting cast is individually and collectively impressive. Howard W. Overshown elicits the audience’s pity, as Sergeant Water’s private lackey, Private James Wilkie. He kowtows to the Sergeant’s orders hoping to someday win back the stripes that Waters stripped from him. Tarik Lowe deftly plays Private First-Class Melvin Peterson, who takes an immediate dislike to his superior for the condescending way he’s treated. Will Adams makes a goofy, but likable Corporal Bernard Cobb, who hopes that the “Colored Troops” will eventually be sent oversees to fight Hitler. 

But it’s Chicago actor Sheldon D. Brown’s compelling portrayal of young, country kid, Private C.J. Memphis that won the hearts of every theatergoer opening night. Remembered for his Jeff Award-winning performance at Steppenwolf in “Choir Boy,” as well as sound appearances at About Face and Court Theatres, Mr. Brown is simply terrific in this role. His character radiates childlike innocence, a love for his guitar and singing and a staunch demeanor with the inability to tell a lie. In Act II we learn that Sergeant Waters especially hated this one particular soldier, and the young man’s fate is what finally precipitates the tyrant’s fall from grace.

Like the opening song, as well as in the other a cappella pieces sung by this astonishing cast, the emotionally stirring trajectory of this magnificent drama is multifaceted. Gorgeously directed and briskly paced by Kenny Leon, this investigation of racism, both Black and White, is told as a Whodunnit. The production is staged all over Derek McLane’s sparse, but effectively versatile multilevel scenic design. It’s illuminated by Allen Lee Hughes’ moody lighting and owes much to Dan Moses Schreier’s important sound design. Broadway in Chicago’s stellar touring production of the two-time Tony Award-winner for 2020’s Best Revival of a Play is a must-see play that will keep audiences riveted and guessing right up to the final moments.                 

Highly Recommended

Reviewed by Colin Douglas

Presented April 4-16 by Broadway in Chicago at the CIBC Theatre, 18 W. Monroe, Chicago.

Tickets are available at the theatre box office, by calling the BIC Ticket Line at 800-775-2000, at Ticketmaster locations and by visiting www.BroadwayinChicago.com.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found at www.theatreinchicago.com.