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Court-Martial at Fort Devens
By Jeffrey Sweet
Directed by Andrea J. Dymond
At Victory Gardens Biograph Theater
2433 N. Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL
Call 773-871-3000, tickets $35 - $45
Tuesdays through Thursdays at 7:30 pm
Fridays at 8 pm
Saturdays at 5 & 8:30 pm
Sundays at 3 pm
Running time is 90 minutes without intermission
Through March 11, 2007
Early defiance foreshadows the fight against racism
Victory Gardens Theater, know as ‘the playwright’s theater,’ keeps that tradition alive with resident playwright Jeffrey Sweet’s twentieth Victory Gardens production—Court-Martial at Fort Devens. This World Premiere drama deals with one of the early racial confrontations during World War II that pitted female soldiers verses the U. S. Army’s commanders. This riveting, well written drama is based on historical facts. The two women volunteered with the WACs having been promised to be trained as medical technicians but once they arrived at Fort Devens (outside of Boston), Colonel Kimball (James Krag), the fort commander, insisted that the “colored girls” were only capable of mopping floors reassigning them as orderlies. Kimball’s racist attitude was blatantly obvious and insulting to the women.
When Private Virginia Boyd (a strong performance from Ericka Ratcliff) and Private Johnnie Mae (Samantha D. Tanner) have an angry face-to-face confrontation with Colonel Kimball, it escalates into a strike which leads to a court-martial. Since it is wartime, a court-martial could have severe prison sentences. The two women are determined to stand their ground. Their attorney, Julian Rainey (Phillip Edward Van Lear) mounts a vigorous defense that includes a meeting with First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt (who eventually intervenes on be half of the two women). This true event certainly foreshadowed the civil rights movement.
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Jeffery Sweet has penned a crisp, polished script that allows much to be said in an efficiently, tight play that makes its case against racism without being melodramatic and without make saints of the two women. This gives the play a depth and power since we see two average women determined to hold their ground against the wrongs by the gigantic U. S. Army. The ensemble piece has many fine performances. From Velma Austin as Lieutenant Stoney to James Krag as the smug racist commander to the charismatic power of Ericka Ratcliff’s Boyd together with the energetic work from Phillip Edward Van Lear as Rainey, Court-Martial at Fort Devens unfolds as a low-keyed story of strong women whose will helped shape change in the U. S. Army. This is an important show that will grip you throughout.
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: February 12, 2007
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