A Soldier's Play
Play written by Charles Fuller
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A Soldier's Play is a play by American playwright Charles Fuller. Set on a US Army installation in the segregation-era South, the play is a loose adaptation of Herman Melville's novella Billy Budd, and follows the murder investigation of the Sergeant in an all-black unit. The play uses a murder mystery to explore the complicated feelings of anger and resentment that some African Americans have toward one another, and the ways in which many black Americans have absorbed white racist attitudes.
Sgt. Waters
Pvt. Wilkie
Cpl. Cobb
Pvt. Smalls
Capt. Taylor
C.J. Memphis
Cpl. Ellis
Pfc. Peterson
Pvt. Henson
Big Mary
Lt. Byrd
Capt. Wilcox
Sgt. Washington
Col. Nivens
| A Soldier's Play | |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Written by | Charles Fuller |
| Characters | Capt. Davenport Sgt. Waters Pvt. Wilkie Cpl. Cobb Pvt. Smalls Capt. Taylor C.J. Memphis Cpl. Ellis Pfc. Peterson Pvt. Henson Big Mary Lt. Byrd Capt. Wilcox Sgt. Washington Col. Nivens |
| Subject | Racism, military life, police procedural |
| Genre | Mystery; drama |
| Setting | Fort Neal, Louisiana, in 1944 |
| Premiere | |
| Date | November 20, 1981 |
| Place | Negro Ensemble Company at Theatre Four, 424 W 55th Street[1] New York City, New York |
The drama won the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, among other accolades. It was the basis for a 1984 feature film adaptation, A Soldier's Story, for which Fuller wrote the screenplay.
Plot synopsis
In 1944 at the United States Army's Fort Neal in Louisiana, a light-skinned black man Sergeant Vernon Waters is murdered by an unseen shooter. Just before his death, Waters utters the enigmatic cry, "They still hate you!"
Captain Richard Davenport is a black Army officer; a rarity. He arrives to investigate the killing. Initially, the primary suspects are local Ku Klux Klansmen. Later, bigoted white soldiers fall under suspicion. Ultimately, Davenport discovers the killer was one of the black soldiers under Waters' command. Waters' men hated him because Waters himself treated Southern black men with disdain and contempt.
As Davenport interviews witnesses and suspects, flashbacks show what Sergeant Waters was like, and how he treated his men. The light-skinned Waters was highly intelligent and extremely ambitious. He loathed black men who conformed to old-fashioned racist stereotypes. Waters dreamed of sending his own children to an elite college where they would associate with white students, rather than with other blacks. In Waters' mind, Uncle Toms and "lazy, shiftless Negroes" reflected poorly on him, and made it harder for other African-Americans to succeed. For that reason, Waters persecuted black soldiers like Private C.J. Memphis, whose broad grin and jive talk infuriated Waters. Waters' cruelty and vindictiveness drove Memphis to suicide, which alienated the rest of Waters' men and turned them against him.
Shortly before he was murdered, Waters came to realize how futile and foolish his lifelong attempts to behave like a white man had been. His dying words, "They still hate you," reflected his belated understanding that white hatred and disdain of black men like himself had nothing to do with stereotypical black behavior, and that whites would probably always hate him, no matter how hard he tried to emulate "white" ways.
Productions
The play originally was staged Off-Broadway by the Negro Ensemble Company at Theater Four (now called the Julia Miles Theater). It opened on November 20, 1981, and closed on January 2, 1983, after 468 performances. The original cast included Adolph Caesar as Sergeant Waters, Denzel Washington as Private Peterson, Larry Riley as Private C.J. Memphis, Samuel L. Jackson as Private Louis Henson, Peter Friedman as Captain Charles Taylor, and Charles Brown as Captain Davenport. The director was Douglas Turner Ward. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, the play won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Play, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play, and the Obie Award for Distinguished Ensemble Performance.[2]
The Valiant Theatre Company presented the play Off-Broadway at Theatre Four from November 19, 1996, to December 8. Directed by Clinton Turner Davis, the cast featured Wood Harris (Private First Class Melvin Peterson), Keith Randolph Smith, Danny Johnson (C.J. Memphis), Geoffrey C. Ewing (Captain Richard Davidson), Jonathan Walker and Albert Hall (Sergeant Waters).[3][4]
The play was revived Off-Broadway by Second Stage Theatre from September 20, 2005 (previews), opening on October 17, 2005, and closing on November 27, 2005. Directed by Jo Bonney, the cast featured James McDaniel as Tech. Sergeant Vernon C. Waters, Anthony Mackie as Private First Class Melvin Peterson, Mike Colter as Private C.J. Memphis, Dorian Missick as Private Louis Henson, Steven Pasquale as Captain Charles Taylor, and Taye Diggs as Captain Richard Davenport.[5][6]
Roundabout Theater Company presented the play's Broadway debut in January 2020, starring David Alan Grier as Sergeant Waters, Blair Underwood as Captain Davenport, and Nnamdi Asomugha as Private First Class Melvin Peterson; directed by Kenny Leon.[7][8] As of March 8, 2020, the production had completed 55 performances. On March 11, 2020, all Broadway theaters closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, suspending the play's run.[9] Despite its shortened run, the production won multiple accolades, including the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play, the Drama League Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play, and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play.[10][11][12][13] The play embarked on a national tour during the 2022–2023 season, starring Norm Lewis as Davenport and Eugene Lee as Waters.[14]
Film adaptation
Caesar, Washington and Larry Riley reprised their roles in the film version, A Soldier's Story, directed by Norman Jewison.
Television adaptation
In September 2021, it was reported that Sony Pictures Television planned to adapt the play into a limited television series titled A Soldier's Story. Grier was to reprise his role as Waters and also serve as executive producer on the series.[15]
Awards and nominations
Original Off-Broadway Production (1981)
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Clarence Derwent Awards | Most Promising Male | Larry Riley | Won |
| Drama League Awards | Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Adolph Caesar | Won | |
| Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play | Won | ||
| New York Drama Critics' Circle | Best American Play | Charles Fuller | Won | |
| Pulitzer Prize | Drama | Won | ||
Off-Broadway Revival (2005)
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Artios Awards | New York Off-Broadway | Tara Rubin | Nominated |
| Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Nominated | ||
| Distinguished Performance Award | Taye Diggs | Nominated | ||
| Anthony Mackie | Nominated | |||
Broadway Revival (2020)
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Tony Awards[16] | Best Revival of a Play | Won | |
| Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play | Blair Underwood | Nominated | ||
| Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play | David Alan Grier | Won | ||
| Best Direction of a Play | Kenny Leon | Nominated | ||
| Best Scenic Design in a Play | Derek McLane | Nominated | ||
| Best Costume Design in a Play | Dede Ayite | Nominated | ||
| Best Lighting Design in a Play | Allen Lee Hughes | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Won | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | David Alan Grier | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Fight Choreography | Thomas Schall | Won | ||
| Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Won | ||
| Distinguished Performance Award | David Alan Grier | Nominated | ||
| Blair Underwood | Nominated | |||
| Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Honoree | ||
| Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | David Alan Grier | Honoree | ||
| Outstanding Director of a Play | Kenny Leon | Honoree | ||