Brian Slattery — Theater Critic

Norm Lewis’s Davenport is a steady hand as the audience’s guide through the hornet’s nest of Fort Neal; he’s shrewd and strategic, knowing when to be ingratiating and when to take a stand, to find out the truth of what’s happened. Connell excels as a man trying to navigate his way out of the racist maze he finds himself lost in. Each of the soldiers has his time to shine, especially Tarik Lowe as the outspoken, unafraid Private Melvin Peterson and Sheldon D. Brown as the amiable and deeply tragic Private C.J. Memphis. The banter between the soldiers - vital, vivacious young men — offers a key balance to the heavy subject matter and to the seriousness of the investigation. As the deeply problematic Sgt. Waters, Eugene Lee has the toughest job. His performance is riveting and uncomfortable in the best sense; even as he says some of the most hateful things heard on a stage around here in quite some time, Lee convinces us that his character believes he’s doing the right thing.