by Charles Fuller & directed by ShawnJ West
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.
Presented by Altarena Playhouse, Alameda, CA.
Sound Design by Ray Archie of Brooklyn Sound Lab
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