Kenny Leon isn’t just a proponent of supporting the arts; he embodies it. In casual conversation, the Atlanta-based director doesn’t hesitate to connect his love for theater to any topic, even when it’s not necessary. But for the 66-year-old director and Tony winner, whose extensive career includes producing and directing for Broadway, television and local theater, promoting the arts is always necessary.
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
It’s within the arts that Leon finds snapshots of solutions to societal problems.
“I used to think the answer was in the political arena or the answer could come from the religious community,” Leon said. “More and more, I’m thinking maybe the answer is coming from the artistic (community). Some of the answers can be found in a good musical or old-fashioned play, maybe (in) “A Soldier’s Play.”
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Credit: Miguel Martinez
Directed by Leon, “A Soldier’s Play” will make its Atlanta debut at the Fox Theatre this spring. It stars Norm Lewis and Eugene Lee. The play will run from March 28-April 2. Written by Charles Fuller (who died in October), the 1981 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama depicts a murder mystery following the death of a Black sergeant on a Louisiana army base in 1944. The investigation prompts members of the all-Black unit to grapple with themes of race, self-hate and identity.
A 1982 Off-Broadway production of the play starred Denzel Washington and Samuel L. Jackson at the Negro Ensemble Company. Nearly 40 years later, the play debuted on Broadway in January 2020, but the production abruptly ended due to COVID-19. “A Soldier’s Play” won the Tony award for Best Revival in 2020. The Atlanta showing of the play is a part of a national tour produced by Roundabout Theater Company.
“We’re bringing the play to the people, so in many ways, we’re honoring those people who did the play originally....Back then, that was their artistic home — the Negro Ensemble Company,” Leon said. “There was nowhere else for them to work and to be respected except from their own community, so now to bring that play to the community and honoring those people who did it originally, it’s very exciting.”
In 2017, Leon directed a reading of “Our Town” featuring “Avengers: Infinity War” stars Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Mark Ruffalo, Jeremy Renner and Maximiliano Hernández at the Fox Theatre. Proceeds from the one-night-only performance were donated to support hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. The reading was the last time Leon directed a performance at the venue.
Leon said returning to the theater and bringing “A Soldier’s Play” to his hometown is a “career-changing moment.” An alumnus of Clark Atlanta University, Leon got his start at the Alliance Theatre and later co-founded the True Colors Theatre Company in 2002. He hopes to feel the love and support from his hometown when the play premieres.
“It’s a play that you’ll think about long after you leave the theater,” Leon said. “One thing I’ve discovered (during) COVID is that people are very conscious about how they spend their time and what they spend their time doing, and I think this is one of those moments that Atlanta would love the fact that they spent their time with family watching a story that mattered. To come to Atlanta, the town I grew up in but also the home of the civil rights movement, if there’s a civil rights play/musical, it’s this play.”
Following the Broadway production of “A Soldier’s Play” and in wake of the murder of George Floyd, Leon helped create Black Theatre United, a nonprofit formed to provides resources and opportunities for Black artists. It’s a work that he’s reminded of when thinking about his new play.
Credit: Charles Sykes
Credit: Charles Sykes
“Not everybody is in every story, but every story needs to be told, so as a Broadway veteran, I made a commitment to make a difference in the lives of young artists, entertainers, directors, people behind the stage,” Leon said. “I’d like to think all my life I’ve been working toward this diversity and inclusion ... We are still dealing with the original sin of this country. We still are the only people who were brought here and enslaved, and, as Americans, we still haven’t really dealt with that, so ‘A Soldier’s Play’ deals with the depth of that racism and how it not only affects us as a country, as a city, but how it also affects us in our homes.”
Leon hopes “A Soldier’s Play” will encourage Atlanta audiences to uplift and promote local theater.
“I just want people to keep supporting theater here in Atlanta,” Leon said. “Support local theater. See a play at True Colors Theater Company, then see a play at the Horizon, then see at play at the Fox. Don’t just see one play. See a musical then see a play. See a play then see a musical because theater, plays and musicals are really just a snapshot of us, and we can always learn.”
THEATER PREVIEW
March 28-April 2. $31-$89. The Fox Theatre, 660 Peachtree St. NE, Atlanta. 855-285-8499, foxtheatre.org. Presented by Broadway in Atlanta
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