-Courtesy of Bryan Buttler Media Relations, LLC
feature photo by Joan Marcus
The Kimmel Cultural Campus, in partnership with The Shubert Organization, proudly presents the Philadelphia premiere of Roundabout Theatre Company’s 2020 Tony Award®-winning Best Revival of a Play, A Soldier’s Play. This show, honored with the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, comes to Philadelphia – home to the playwright, Charles Fuller – as part of a limited national tour running at the Forrest Theatre, January 24 – February 5, 2023.
Emmy, Tony, and SAG Award nominee Norm Lewis will star as ‘Captain Richard Davenport.’ Joining him will be Broadway, TV, and film star Eugene Lee, who originated the role of ‘Corporal Bernard Cobb’ in the original 1981 Off-Broadway Production of A Soldier’s Play; his role in this production is ‘Sergeant Vernon C. Waters.’ A Soldier’s Play will be directed by Tony Award winner and Roundabout Theatre Company’s Senior Resident Director Kenny Leon.
“We are delighted to present this revival of Charles Fuller’s work for the very first time in his hometown of Philadelphia, a city where arts and culture thrive,” said Matías Tarnopolsky, president and CEO of The Philadelphia Orchestra and Kimmel Center, Inc. “Fuller’s play is a shining example of a work that is just as relevant today as it was at its premiere four decades ago.”
In 1944, on a Louisiana Army base, two shots ring out. A Black sergeant is murdered. And a series of interrogations triggers a gripping barrage of questions about sacrifice, service, and identity in America. Charles Fuller’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece opened on Broadway for the first time on January 21, 2020, at Roundabout Theatre Company’s American Airlines Theatre, nearly forty years after it was written. The acclaimed production was nominated for 7 Tony Awards and 3 Drama Desk Awards, winning Best Revival for both.
“The recent passing of The Giant that is Charles Fuller has only magnified his brilliance… an amazing writer who left us so much with his masterful A Soldier’s Play,” said director Kenny Leon. “We honor him with this American tour of the Broadway production of this great American classic. Come – laugh, think and reflect – America is in need of love.”
The cast includes Will Adams as ‘Corporal Bernard Cobb,’ Brandon Alvión as an understudy, Sheldon D. Brown as ‘Private C.J. Memphis,’ Malik Esoj Childs as ‘Private Tony Smalls,’ Ja’Quán Cole as an understudy, William Connell as ‘Captain Charles Taylor,’ Charles Everett as an understudy, Alex Michael Givens as ‘Corporal Ellis,’ Matthew Goodrich as ‘Captain Wilcox,’ Chattan Mayes Johnson as ‘Lieutenant Byrd,’ Branden Davon Lindsay as ‘Private Louis Henson,’ Tarik Lowe as ‘Private First-Class Melvin Peterson,’ Al’Jaleel McGhee as an understudy, Howard Overshown as ‘Private James Wilkie’ and Alex Ross as an understudy.
Joining director Kenny Leon for the tour of Roundabout Theatre Company’s A Soldier’s Play is the Broadway design team that includes Derek McLane (Sets), Dede Ayite (Costumes), Allen Lee Hughes (Lights), Dan Moses Schreier (Sound), and Cristina Angeles (Associate Director). The tour of A Soldier’s Play is produced by Roundabout Theatre Company and Tamar Climan.
The A Soldier’s Play tour stage management team is John Atherlay and RL Campbell. The company management team is Frank Lott and Jordan Lingreen. Roundabout Theatre Company’s tour of A Soldier’s Play is made possible in part by generous support from Denise Littlefield Sobel.
Connect with A Soldier’s Play on tour: asoldiersplaytour.com
Follow ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY on: Instagram, Facebook and Twitter
Tickets
Tickets can be purchased by calling 212-239-6200, visiting www.telecharge.com, or in-person beginning on January 3, 2023, at the Forrest Theatre box office (1114 Walnut Street).
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