Stephen Conrad Moore as Bayard,
Renea S. Brown as Coretta,
Aaron Bliden as Stanley,
Ro Boddie as Martin
and Yao Dogbe as Clarence
in the 2025 Ford’s Theatre production of
The American Five.
Directed by Aaron Posner.
Photo by Scott Suchman.
As we prepare to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States of America, there will be numerous events to commemorate the occasion (like Ford’s Theatre’s production of the musical 1776, which opens on March 13, 2026), but there are other historical events that have happened since July 4, 1776 that have impacted our society — some of which our current political leaders would prefer to erase particularly when it comes to the Black experience in this country. One event that took place on August 28, 1963 shook the foundations of the country, setting us on a path to equality for all, opening doors of opportunity for many that never existed before. Sadly, in our current climate our society seems to have gone backwards and is devolving instead of moving forward and evolving in how we think about and treat the non-white citizens of this country. That only makes Ford’s Theatre’s production of The American Five all the more urgent, a show that doesn’t as much give us a history lesson but rather show’s us how history is made.
The American Five begins on that important day, in the wee hours of the morning before Dr. Martin Luther King’s March on Washington, where he delivered his famous ‘I have a dream’ speech. But as the show starts, he’s still working on the speech, a very good speech that is passionate and to the point, but it’s missing that spark that will make it memorable. In the hotel room with him that night are his wife Coretta, Bayard Rustin (principal organizer of the March), and Clarence B. Jones (the writer of the speech). With just a few hours left until the speech is delivered to the media before Dr. King delivers it to the assembled crowd and to live TV audiences across the country, there is concern that King’s constant tinkering will dilute the power of what they all agree is a great speech. Suddenly there is a pounding at the door, and the scene rewinds ten years to Martin and Coretta’s first date where he tells her he wants to get married and she’s not really sure about that just yet.
Time begins to move forward as various notable events occur, such as Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955, and the Reverend King getting the cover of Time magazine in 1957, and the first Freedom Ride in 1961. By 1963, King has gotten himself in hot water by violating a court injunction prohibiting civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama and is arrested and jailed. King’s activism has made him a target and one night while his wife and child are home alone, two bombs go off, severely damaging the house. King is angry because someone tried to kill his family, but Coretta corrects him and says they were trying to kill him. But this near tragic event only makes what he is trying to do even more important, and his friend Bayard urges him to expand his mission. They bring in Clarence, a lawyer and speech writer, and Bayard has one more surprise up his sleeve as he introduces Dr. King to Stanley Levison, who carries some major baggage of his own — he is a member of the Communist party, or if the meeting goes well, was a Communist. He’s also white and Dr. King doesn’t think Levison is a good fit for their mission … but Levison corrects Dr. King and says he’s Jewish and that piques Dr. King’s interest. He can work with that.
Renea S. Brown as Coretta
and Ro Boddie as Martin
in the 2025 Ford’s Theatre production of
The American Five.
Directed by Aaron Posner.
Photo by Scott Suchman.
Once the team is assembled, it takes some convincing to talk Dr. King into pulling off a march in three months. It could be a turning point, or it could be a cookout. But the work being put into the March is taking a toll on Dr. King and his marriage as outside forces try to undo all the work the five have put into this, including trying to suggest Dr. King and Bayard are more than just friends (Rustin was openly gay), threatening to expose Dr. King’s multiple affairs, and having the President himself, John F. Kennedy, threaten the March unless King fires Levison. While the five had all pledged to go over a cliff with this March, but Dr. King is torn about firing his friend, a man who has used his connections in New York to generate tens of thousands of dollars in donations to the cause. So he send Clarence to do the job — which does not make Coretta happy — but will he be able to go through with it? It all culminates back where we started, wondering who is pounding on the hotel room door. You’ll have to see the show for yourself to learn who it is.
The American Five is a world premiere event at Ford’s Theatre, part of a series of historical dramas that have been produced at the theatre. Written by Chess Jakobs, the recipient of the Ford’s Theatre Legacy Commission in 2024, the show takes an historical event that many of us know about — and which younger generations should know about — but gives us personal insights into the real-life people who were involved in the event rather than just rehashing the details of the March on Washington. The script fleshes out Dr. King, Coretta, Bayard, Clarence and Stanley, and for many this may be an introduction to the men who worked behind Dr. King that history has a tendency to overlook. It gives us insights into the Kings’ relationship, the bond between them all that pushed this movement further ahead, and the personal issues and secrets that could have very easily torn it all apart. We’re seeing this historical event but on a deeper, much more personal level than what we’d ever get in a history lesson, and it helps humanize these people that we only see as two-dimensional characters on television or in books, and by the end you can help but feel moved as that speech begins.
Director Aaron Posner and Scenic Designer Andrew R. Cohen expertly use the Ford’s stage in a novel way, building out actual walls and doors over the usual walls and doors that are utilized for most of the show at the theatre, as well as the sliding panels at the back of the stage which allows various set-pieces like a bed and a dining room table to be easily moved onto the stage. There are also two benches at the front of the stage that double as tables, and various other chairs and desks are quickly moved on and off stage for each scene. It all flows extremely well, and it’s all enhanced by Max Doolittle’s Lighting Design, and a really innovative use of projections on what greets the audience as protest signs and photographs of the March above and on the sides of the stage, but become screens for the projections, both static and with motion. The projections are so amazing I’m still trying to figure out how they were done.
Yao Dogbe as Clarence,
Stephen Conrad Moore as Bayard,
Renea S. Brown as Coretta,
Ro Boddie as Martin
and Aaron Bliden as Stanley
in the 2025 Ford’s Theatre production of
The American Five.
Directed by Aaron Posner.
Photo by Scott Suchman.
Helping bring Jakobs’ words to live is the stellar cast. Ro Boddie makes his Ford’s debut as Dr. King, giving him a real humanity that allows the audience to relate to the man on a personal level as he takes on the rampant racism his people face while showing the deep love for his wife and the respect for the men he’s surrounded himself with. He does not play Dr. King as anything other than a real man facing real issues, fighting to make the world better for everyone (thanks to his coalition that includes a gay man and a Jew who have to get him to understand if he just makes his speech about the Negro community if he wants it to be impactful). Stephen Conrad Moore is also excellent as Bayard, who may be even more passionate about Dr. King’s message and mission than the man himself. Moore makes Bayard a force to be reckoned with (and he often has Coretta taking his side), and hopefully this play and this performance will shed more light on the man who made it all happen (President Obama did award Rustin the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously in 2013). Yao Dogbe might have the hardest role as Clarence, the man who is all in on the March and the message, but is often combative when the message he’s written isn’t received by Dr. King as well as he expected it to be. Dogbe gives a great performance but the character is a little difficult to warm up to.
As good as those three are, two actors steal the show. Renea S. Brown is just glorious as Coretta Scott King. Brown plays Coretta as a strong, vibrant, intelligent, compassionate and passionate woman, the real driving force behind Martin, keeping him on track and their family united. She is no timid wife sitting in the corner, and she has no problem speaking her mind … especially to her husband. Brown makes Coretta the true heart of this story. Aaron Bliden is also outstanding as Stanley, sort of the show’s ‘comic relief’, bringing a lot of humor to the character as he learns more about the Negro culture, never allowing Stanley to feel out of place among the other four, and really showing how forceful he can be when confronted with being removed from the March. Bliden makes the humor in the role feel like an entirely natural part of who Stanley, never going over-the-top and making some of the more tense situations less tense. Two wonderful performances that light up the stage.
If you’re in or planning to be in the Washington DC area, do yourself a favor and get tickets to The American Five. You might think you know all about the March on Washington, but this show will tell you more about the blood, sweat and tears that went into the event, humanizing larger-than-life characters and, hopefully, opening your eyes to the injustices these people were trying to fight that are still going on today, perhaps inspiring you to take up a cause. The American Five is informative, but it’s wildly entertaining as well. Don’t miss it!
The American Five runs about 2 hours 15 minutes with one 15 minute intermission. Recommended for ages 12 and up. The show runs through October 12, 2025.