REVIEW: The American Five (Ford’s Theatre)

The other day, a local newspaper of note posted rare local theatre double-coverage of two civil rights-oriented plays being put on right now in DC. One half covered Folger’s Julius X, the epic Shakespearean take on Detroit Red. The other, a more straightforward bio-play about the writing of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. We disagreed on the execution of the former — I quite liked it — but I had no basis for the other, Ford’s’ The American Five, which both them and other regional critics have raved over. It only made sense that after checking out Malcolm’s big play that I see Martin’s too.

Book

Well, firstly, in media res is one of my guilty pleasure narrative devices. Especially when the audience has the built-in pretext for the stakes. Chess Jakobs’ book starts off the night before Dr. King’s groundbreaking speech at the Lincoln Memorial: it’s 3 A.M. at the DC hotel, and the tensions have never been higher. Nobody —that’s he and Corretta, Bayard Rustin, and Clarence Jones—can sleep because the Rev’ is not satisfied with the direction. This is their chance, and it needs to be practically biblical in scale. Even though the audience knows how it goes down later that day, the tension is so palpable, and excellently sets up four of the five characters, that it’s one of the most engaging first scenes you’ll ever see in a genre that is often very hand-holdy.

The timeline jumps backwards from here, telling the story of getting to this point from the 1950s onward. Key historical events are covered, such as his meeting of the fifth member, Stan Levison. the aftermath of Dr. King’s meeting with President Kennedy and his letter from the Birmingham jail, but where these shine is not in the showcase of history as much as it is the razor-sharp dialogue and addictive characterization in Jakobs’ writing. Each are given such luscious scenework to operate and breathe. The book smartly explores their relationships with each other, not just in their collective relation to Dr. King, and the audience benefits from it. American Five actually feels like a story of that many degrees: a story chronicling a web of professionals and friends, each with their own lore and motivations that fulfil an ending that feels wholly satisfying. If an “ending” is what you can call it, that is; in a way, the story still continues here in 2025. 10/10

Acting

Does a thesaurus have enough words of positivity to describe this cast, in one of the most flawless ensembles I’ve seen on any stage? Expectations were high for Ro Boddie, who has become the sort of de jure Dr. King interpreter of the region. And it’s here you see why, because he just doesn’t miss. His signature charm and passion has its own theatrical orbit in anything, really, but it’s even more so apparent in this version of Dr. King. When covering a character so attached to a Lincoln Memorial, it’s almost ethereal to witness an actor of this skill hone it at the more somber version (his Ford’s debut, at that!) But even if you just come for another Ro Boddie classic, stay for everyone else: a candid and powerful turn by Renea S. Brown as Coretta, Yao Dogbe’s sparky Clarence (and his excellent chemistry with Aaron Bliden’s comic-relief-turned-political pawn Stanley), and an irresistibly acted Bayard from Stephen Conrad Moore. 10/10

Production

You don’t always need elaborate sets, complicated blocking, or fancy lighting (even if it would be cool). Sometimes you just need a laser-focused directorial vision that knows whom and what to highlight, and when to do it. Aaron Posner has executed this to as much a T as one can. The monumental set by Andrew Cohen is an effective canvas for Mona Kasra’s busily creative (but never distracting) projections. The lighting is subtle, but a gorgeous storytelling mode handled with care by Max Doolittle. Cody Von Ruden’s costumes, too, are a hoot, and are given shout-outs in the script so that we may all appreciate how sharp someone’s shoes are, or how spiffy a tie, or how colorful a dress. 9/10

Viz

The visual identity keeps in line with the Oscar-bait biopicity of the production with plain imagery of Dr. King on the program and protest-signs playfully smattered against the backdrop. It’s unwavering in what it’s about, and you can’t get more direct and apt than that. 10/10

Verdict

The American Five is an impressive effort on every front, from its expertly-paced book to its can’t miss ensemble and everything in between. 39/40