Dunbar Repertory Company’s production features Arthur Gregory Pugh (Tech/Sergeant Vernon C. Waters), Stephen Mennella (Captain Charles Taylor), Jo-Leo Carney-Waterton (Corporal Bernard Cobb), Malik Abdul Khaaliq (Private First Class Melvin Peterson), Kylensky Miracle (Corporal Ellis), Travis Whitaker (Private Louis Henson), Bellamy Shivers (Private James Wilkie), Collin Roach (Private Tony Smalls), Damien S. Berger (Captain Richard Davenport), Antonious Thigpen (Private C.J. Memphis), Griffin Holland (Lieutenant Byrd) and Hudson Eder (Captain Wilcox).

ABOUT CHARLES FULLER
Charles Fuller (1939–2022) was an acclaimed American playwright whose work explored race, identity, and power within African American communities and American society at large. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Fuller served in the U.S. Army before co-founding the Afro-American Arts Theatre, where he began developing his voice as a dramatist.

Fuller gained national recognition with A Soldier’s Play (1981), a gripping drama set on a Black Army base in 1944. The play, which investigates the murder of a Black sergeant, earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1982 and was later adapted into the Academy Award–nominated film A Soldier’s Story (1984). His other works, including The Brownsville Raid (1976) and Zooman and the Sign (1980), tackled racial tension, violence, and social justice, earning critical acclaim and Obie Awards.

Fuller’s writing is celebrated for its compelling narratives, rich characterizations, and unflinching engagement with difficult social issues. Over his career, he received numerous honors, including grants from the Rockefeller Foundation, Guggenheim Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Fuller’s work left a lasting impact on American theater, elevating Black voices and experiences to the center of the stage. His legacy continues to inspire new generations of playwrights and audiences.

ABOUT THE DUNBAR REPERTORY COMPANY
Known to residents of Central New Jersey as “Monmouth County’s African American Theater Company”, Dunbar Repertory Company is committed to its mission of perpetuating an appreciation of cultural diversity and celebrating African American culture through LIVE literary readings, main stage theatrical productions, education programs and services.

ABOUT THE MIDDLETOWN ARTS CENTER
The Middletown Arts Center (MAC) is an award-winning, state-of-the-art facility in Middletown, New Jersey that offers performances, exhibits, classes, demonstrations and camps centering on the arts. Its convenient location across from the Middletown train station on Church Street enables easy access and its expanded MAC Annex Education Building is minutes away next to the Middletown Reformed Church. The MAC is operated by a non-profit 501c3, the Middletown Township Cultural and Arts Council which is dedicated to bringing quality arts programming and events to Middletown and surrounding communities. Visit middletownarts.org for more information and to join our mailing list for updates on classes, camps and activities at the Middletown Arts Center.