Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...The richness of this work is born, I think, of Fuller's own history and also of his extraordinary talent. Aside from Lewis, the production also features a superb ensemble of actors, including the veteran actor Eugene Lee. Lee's fearless portrait of a man whose justifiably embittered dogmatism rips several human beings apart is truly an extraordinary piece of acting. You can also see the young actor Sheldon D. Brown, who so impressed Steppenwolf Theatre audiences in "Choir Boy," once again doing very fine and fearless work as a private who deserves no part of his fate."
Chicago Sun Times - Recommended
"...Played expertly by Eugene Lee (another member of the original ensemble), Waters is the core of "A Soldier's Play." Although the title is intentionally generic, and there is plenty of room for interpretation, if we had to choose one soldier for that title it would be Waters. He has absorbed all the lessons of both the broader culture and the military one and tried to follow the path to achievement. He has, in other words, been a good soldier. But he's also a villain, a despicable figure who humiliates his troops even more than he disciplines them."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...In an ensemble packed with sharp performances, Eugene Lee (a veteran of the original Negro Ensemble Company cast) stands out as Waters. Self-pitying one moment, tough as nails the next, and sometimes both (and more) at the same time, he’s a mess of contradictions. It’s only at the moment of his death that he realizes the truth: no matter how much he tries to play the white man’s game, they’ll still hate him. Hating his own people won’t change that one jot."
Let's Play Theatrical Reviews - Recommended
"...The question is if A Solidier's Play is worth a ticket, yes! There is some fantastic acting in this play, and it's a powerful reminder that our society still has a long way to go before we reach equality, but don't get upset if you leave feeling something was missing."
Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended
"..."A Soldier's Play", written by Charles Fuller, is a murder mystery set in the early 1940s at Fort Neal, Louisiana, a racially segregated army base that is home to black troops. Impressively directed by Kenny Leon, this play is as much about how African Americans perceive of differences among themselves, such as socioeconomic background, the region of the country that they come from, their place within the black social hierarchy, and their previous contact with whites."
Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended
"...Like the opening song, as well as in the other a cappella pieces sung by this astonishing cast, the emotionally stirring trajectory of this magnificent drama is multifaceted. Gorgeously directed and briskly paced by Kenny Leon, this investigation of racism, both Black and White, is told as a Whodunnit. The production is staged all over Derek McLane's sparse, but effectively versatile multilevel scenic design. It's illuminated by Allen Lee Hughes' moody lighting and owes much to Dan Moses Schreier's important sound design. Broadway in Chicago's stellar touring production of the two-time Tony Award-winner for 2020's Best Revival of a Play is a must-see play that will keep audiences riveted and guessing right up to the final moments."
Buzznews.net - Recommended
"...By the time Charles Fuller's "A Soldier's Play" debuted on Broadway in January 2020 it was already a classic in American theatre. It premiered with the Negro Ensemble Company in 1981, winning the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 1982. It was adapted to film and was nominated for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor for the Late Great Adolph Caesar at the 1985 Academy Awards. After 40 years it finally graced the Broadway stage just before the death of its playwright. According to Fuller, his refusal to change the line "You'll have to get used to Black people being in charge." at the producer's demand, prevented the show from going to Broadway sooner. I personally believe the universe was waiting for just the right director to bring the majesty of this play to Broadway. The only director filling that role is the talented Kenny Leon."
Third Coast Review - Highly Recommended
"...Kenny Leon’s smart direction draws strong performances from these soldiers: From Lee as Sgt. Waters, Brown as C.J. Memphis, and from Tarik Lowe and Howard W. Overshown as two other soldiers, Peterson and Wilkie. And Lewis’ commanding presence as Davenport reminds the Black soldiers how proud they are to see a man who looks like them with captain’s bars."
Chicago On Stage - Recommended
"...Charles Fuller's 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning A Soldier's Play is, at least as presented in its first national tour, a powerful and personal play about a huge subject matter, racism. The touring company's performance is dynamic and strong, and Kenny Leon's direction (which includes the addition of a lot of moving music sung by the Black soldiers) is faultless, but I still left the theatre thinking that an opportunity had been missed: this is a play that might well be better suited for a more intimate theatre than the CIBC, where it is ensconced for the next two weeks."
PicksInSix - Highly Recommended
"..."They still hate you!" The words ring out as the first moments in witnessing a murder. They are accompanied by a seeming prisoner's work song from soldiers in an impressionistic barracks- the set piece of the painful, eloquent "A Soldier's Play," the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by American playwright Charles Fuller, whom we lost last October. And it's all deftly staged by the marvelous director Kenny Leon and now revived through Roundabout Theatre Company's 2020 Tony Award-winning production on tour throughout North America and at Broadway In Chicago's CIBC Theatre through April 16."
Picture This Post - Highly Recommended
"...Top-notch acting and clever writing make A Soldier's Play far more than your typical murder mystery. In this writer's opinion, this is a masterpiece that simply should not be missed - exquisitely told and questions that unfortunately have not lost their relevance."
BroadwayWorld - Recommended
"...A SOLDIER'S PLAY is a reminder of the enduring cycles of racism that take root in American culture, and the procedural format gives the play a nice structure. It's evident that Fuller completely understood how to put together a taut, timely play. While the production doesn't break new ground, Leon ensures that it's a great showcase for the ensemble as audiences watch the investigation unfold."
NewCity Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...In the riveting, too-short Chicago run of the forty-two-year-old Pulitzer-winning "A Soldier's Play," the young Black infantrymen play on the best baseball team in the U.S. Army. It's 1944 in Klan-infested Louisiana, and besides baseball, the men are assigned mostly to menial clean-up duties serving a segregated Army while they await and hope for deployment to fight."