In 1944, a black Sergeant is murdered on a Louisiana Army base, and one tenacious investigator must race against his white leadership to unravel the crime before they unravel him. A hair-raising drama that painfully still reverberates today, the mystery of Charles Fuller's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece has finally arrived on Broadway for the first time, directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon.
Kenny Leon deserves much credit enhancing the play's message through directorial flourishes. He adds historical allusions to the African American experience throughout, beginning with a stirring call-and-response from the soldiers in a darkened barracks suggesting the early roots of African music. And later we see the troops marching in a thrilling sequence, combining military cadence with stylized movements. It all comes together quite powerfully, evoking the emotional wounds borne by a lifetime of soul-crushing hate. After some 40 years, 'A Soldier's Play' still hits home, summoning a world at war with itself.
Still, A Soldier's Play remains as stubbornly earnest and straightforward as its title. At its end, the black soldiers-relegated mostly to playing baseball for the base, never getting to fight Hitler-receive word that they're finally shipping out. And O'Connell's Taylor realizes the error of his early ways. 'I was wrong, Davenport-about the bars-the uniform-about Negroes being in charge,' he says. 'I guess I'll have to get used to it.' It's a play set in the 1940s, written in the 1980s, optimistically looking toward a better time in American race relations. In 2020, that can't help but feel quaint.
| 1981 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
| 2005 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
| 2020 | Broadway |
Roundabout Theatre Company's Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| 2022 | US Tour |
North American Tour US Tour |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | David Alan Grier |
| 2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Fight Choreography | Thomas Schall |
| 2020 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | A Soldier's Play |
| 2020 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | David Alan Grier |
| 2020 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Blair Underwood |
| 2020 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | A Soldier’s Play |
| 2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Kenny Leon |
| 2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | David Alan Grier |
| 2020 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | A Soldier's Play |
| 2020 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Dede Ayite |
| 2020 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Kenny Leon |
| 2020 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Allen Lee Hughes |
| 2020 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | David Alan Grier |
| 2020 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play | Blair Underwood |
| 2020 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Charles Fuller |
| 2020 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | Derek McLane |
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