Theater News

Norm Lewis to Lead North American Tour of A Soldier's Play

Kenny Leon’s Tony-winning production will hit the road in December.

Norm Lewis will lead Roundabout Theatre Company's North American tour of A Soldier's Play.
Norm Lewis will lead Roundabout Theatre Company's North American tour of A Soldier's Play.
(© Tricia Baron)

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced that A Soldier's Play — Charles Fuller's 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama — will embark on a 20-week North American tour, starring Tony nominee Norm Lewis.

Roundabout produced the play's debut Broadway production in 2020 (Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play), directed by Tony winner Kenny Leon, who reprises his direction for the tour. Lewis will take on the role of Captain Richard Davenport, played on Broadway by Blair Underwood.

A Soldier's Play is described as follows: "In 1944, on a Louisiana Army base, two shots ring out. A Black sergeant is murdered. And a series of interrogations triggers a gripping barrage of questions about sacrifice, service, and identity in America."

The Broadway design team reunites for the touring production, including Derek McLane (sets), Dede Ayite (costumes), Allen Lee Hughes (lights), and Dan Moses Schreier (sound).

Lewis has over a dozen Broadway credits to his name, including Chicago, Side Show, Les Misérables, The Little Mermaid, The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (Tony nomination), and Once on This Island. He was last seen on Broadway earlier this season in Douglas Lyons's new comedy Chicken & Biscuits. In 2014, he made history as The Phantom of the Opera's first Black Phantom on Broadway.

Performances of A Soldier's Play are set to begin in December of 2022 with tour stops and additional casting to be announced soon.