A Soldier’s Play

In a segregated Louisiana army camp in 1944, the murder of rancorous Black sergeant Vernon C. Waters, the sergeant of a Black company, stirs deep-seated animosity and corruption among the soldiers under his command. Captain Taylor, the white C.O., worries the murderer may be a white officer or the local Klan. Richard Davenport, a Black clean-cut Northern captain, is assigned to investigate. Taylor, fearing the assignment of a Black investigator means the case is to be swept under the rug, attempts to discourage Davenport. But Davenport perseveres, discovering deep-seated hatred and corruption among the men in the company. Despite each soldier’s motive for the killing, Davenport eventually solves the case, revealing a truth more shocking than the murder itself. Special post show talk back with Director ShawnJ West hosted by Altarena Playhouse. NO/NO attendees received SWAG bags.