Beyond Glory

A tasty summer piece put on at the Roundabout's Laura Pells Theater. The story, both written and performed by Stephen Lang, is a brief journey through the personas of 8 real medal of honor recipients from WWI all the way up to the Vietnam War and how they felt about what they did to earn such status heroic.

Stephen plays all 8 men in the course of 90 minutes. The story may not be everyone's cup of tea, but keep in mind it is neither pro or anti-war. It is neither republican or democrat - it's a very honest and clean slice of what makes us human and how war affects us in many ways.

Stephen's presence on stage is substantial. He has mostly mastered the accents (all but Senator Innoue, i think) and mannerisms of his many characters. By far i thought the soldier from New Jersey was his best. I'm sure many will have other opinions - but you'll just have to march on over and see for yourself.

Defiance

John Patrick Shanley strikes again. This, the second work in his yet unfinished trilogy (it started with "Doubt"), is destined for a great public reception. It's now showing at MTC City Center on Stage I.

The story of power, lust, and loyalty - and of course, Defiance. Set at Camp Lejune (The Marines) in 1970, it deals with the struggles of racism in the military, belief in God, doing the "right thing" and the casualties guaranteed to fall out in these struggles. The characters - a black captain, a white colonial (25 yrs), the southern educated wife of the colonial, and the base Chaplin. The 100 minutes that ensue are a tour de force - with conflict, a dash of humor, cut with raw emotion. The ensemble cast highlighted individual talent without putting anyone performer up on a pedestal.

I never saw "Doubt" before the transfer to Broadway - but I'm going to guess that this smaller, more intimate environment gave it the fuel it needed to "blast" onto Broadway.