A SOLDIER'S PLAY to be Presented by Dunbar Repertory Company in November
Performances will run from November 8-16.
The Middletown Arts Center, in conjunction with Dunbar Repertory Company, will present Charles Fuller's A Soldier's Play, directed by Darrell Lawrence Willis, Sr. In a segregated Louisiana army camp in 1944, the murder of a rancorous Black sergeant stirs deep-seated animosity and corruption among the soldiers under his command. When a clean-cut Northern captain arrives to investigate, truths are confessed and a shocking secret is revealed.
Dunbar Repertory Company's production features Arthur Gregory Pugh (Tech/Sergeant Vernon C. Waters), Stephen Mennella (Captain Charles Taylor), Jo-Leo Carney-Waterton (Corporal Bernard Cobb), Malik Abdul Khaaliq (Private First Class Melvin Peterson), Kylensky Miracle (Corporal Ellis), Travis Whitaker (Private Louis Henson), Bellamy Shivers (Private James Wilkie), Collin Roach (Private Tony Smalls), Damien S. Berger (Captain Richard Davenport), Antonious Thigpen (Private C.J. Memphis), Griffin Holland (Lieutenant Byrd) and Hudson Eder (Captain Wilcox).
ABOUT Charles Fuller
Charles Fuller (1939–2022) was an acclaimed American playwright whose work explored race, identity, and power within African American communities and American society at large. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Fuller served in the U.S. Army before co-founding the Afro-American Arts Theatre, where he began developing his voice as a dramatist.
Fuller gained national recognition with A Soldier's Play (1981), a gripping drama set on a Black Army base in 1944. The play, which investigates the murder of a Black sergeant, earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1982 and was later adapted into the Academy Award–nominated film A Soldier's Story (1984). His other works, including The Brownsville Raid (1976) and Zooman and the Sign (1980), tackled racial tension, violence, and social justice, earning critical acclaim and Obie Awards.
Fuller's writing is celebrated for its compelling narratives, rich characterizations, and unflinching engagement with difficult social issues. Over his career, he received numerous honors, including grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Fuller's work left a lasting impact on American theater, elevating Black voices and experiences to the center of the stage. His legacy continues to inspire new generations of playwrights and audiences.
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