THE WAR ONSTAGE The Company of


Privates on Parade Photo: Martha Swope


J. Smith-Cameron and Chris Sarandon in The Voice of the Turtle Photo: Martha Swope


J.D. Williams in Streamers Photo: Joan Marcus


Roundabout’s production canon includes several plays that explore military life, soldiers, and wartime. A few have been lighter comedies, such as The Voice of the Turtle (1985) and Privates on Parade (1989), but far more have been darker explorations of the people whose lives are impacted by military service and war. Below are examples from the Archives.


Arthur Miller’s play All My Sons (2019; staged previously by Roundabout in 1974 and 1997) portrays a family’s unraveling due to the death of a son in the military, coupled with a father’s role in the deaths of soldiers.


Streamers by David Rabe (2008) is part of a trilogy focused on soldiers deploying to Vietnam. The work explores the personal lives of soldiers who have different socio-economic and racial backgrounds and must fight to put those differences aside.


The Overwhelming by J.T. Rogers (2007) portrays a country and its peoples on the cusp of civil war and follows an American family into the conflict as they try to understand the political turmoil of 1990s Rwanda.


Beyond Glory by Stephen Lang, based on a book by Larry Smith (2007), is a one-man show that looks at eight different servicemen who not only fought in wars but whose courage earned a Medal of Honor. The show explores the psychic stress of military duty and the ways that people survive and describe their experiences.


Cabaret, with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Joe Masteroff (and based on John Van Druten’s play I Am a Camera, which was adapted from Christopher Isherwood’s novel Goodbye to Berlin) explores Weimar Germany and the rise of Nazism. The show’s comedic points are heavily underscored by the allusion to the depravities of WWII.


Tracy Letts and Annette Bening in Arthur Miller's All My Sons Photo: Joan Marcus


Owiso Odera in The Overwhelming Photo: Joan Marcus


Gayle Rankin and Aaron Krohn in the 2014 Revival of Cabaret Photo: Joan Marcus


For more information on the Roundabout Archives, visit https://archive.roundabouttheatre.org or contact Tiffany Nixon, Roundabout Archivist, at archives@roundabouttheatre.org


22 ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY


Stephen Lang in Beyond Glory Photo: Joan Marcus


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