‘Buffalo Soldier’: A Thrilling Adventure

Issues of prejudice, disenfranchisement and genocide ring with a clarion urgency in Mitch Hale’s gripping period drama “Buffalo Soldier.”

In 1874, Corporal Jofum Wymo (Anthony Lee) and his fellow “Buffalo” soldiers (the name Native Americans gave to African American cavalry soldiers) camp out in the heart of Comanche territory. They’re presided over by Captain Caleb Cooney (John DiFusco), a jittery white officer.

When the detachment captures a notorious Comanche renegade, they are convinced that their prisoner’s comrades are closing in and that the morning light will bring their certain death. As the desperate, frightened soldiers battle among themselves, the glue of Army discipline melts under the heat of rising tensions. Wymo, a former slave, reaches a moral crossroads.

It’s no coincidence that this play is billed as an “interracial Western.” Director Jeff Murray triumphs over modest production values and delivers a wham-bam thrilling adventure story. The cast, which includes James Reynolds, Tyrone Granderson Jones and Cort McCown, is uniformly superlative.

Playwright Hale occasionally oversteps his mark, having his characters indulge in agonized reminiscences at the drop of an Army-issue hat. Still, his play sheds new light on a seldom explored dynamic in American history.

* “Buffalo Soldier,” Theatre/Theater, 1713 Cahuenga Blvd., Hollywood. Wednesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m. Ends March 10. $15-$20. (213) 850-6941. Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes.