While History Theatre is known for bringing Minnesota stories to the stage, its latest takes us to 1962 Mississippi. Yet “A Unique Assignment” is a Minnesotan’s story.
Lt. Henry Gallagher was a 23-year-old army officer from South Minneapolis following orders that came all the way from the top: President John F. Kennedy dispatched troops to Oxford, Mississippi, to keep the peace as James Meredith became the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi. Gallagher was named head of the security detail assigned to protect Meredith from violent racists, arriving amid the gunfire and fury that’s come to be called the Ole Miss riot of 1962.
Assembled from the memoirs of Meredith and Gallagher, “A Unique Assignment” is a gripping piece of storytelling that feels like one of the most important works History Theatre has created in the past decade. With only four actors portraying a virtual battalion’s worth of characters, it’s a story about civil rights seen in close-up, in which one young man’s courageous and confident decision to desegregate a school leads to a life-changing experience for the young officer entrusted to keep him safe.
Directed with a crisp pace and fluid flow by Richard D. Thompson, it’s an expertly executed interpretation of Harrison David Rivers’ deeply involving script. With very few props but a plethora of costume and character changes, “A Unique Assignment” eloquently conveys the danger, hatred and unease that permeated the steamy southern air, as well as the calm contrast found in the relationship that developed between Meredith and Gallagher.
While admirably explaining some principal cultural differences between south and north, Rivers also offers a very believable portrait of U.S. Army culture circa ‘62 and the tug of war between order and chaos that can ensue when soldiers are cast into a role of unclear scope.
Conversely, Meredith is acutely focused on his mission, and James A. Williams imbues him with a fascinating blend of inspiring self-confidence and enigmatic unflappability. Through monologues that sound directly from the pages of Meredith’s memoir, Williams brings us a very private man who decided to take on a very public challenge.
Meanwhile, Kevin Fanshaw’s young Gallagher is disarmingly open about his flaws and misgivings, taking us inside the mind and heart of a kid trying to figure out how to be a leader. As Pearce Bunting ably evokes an older Gallagher narrating his youthful experiences, Rivers’ script frequently finds the humor within this soldier’s reminiscences, with Kevin Brown Jr. making a multitude of characters invariably engaging.
In a story about divisions between black and white, Ursula K Bowden’s abstract set is decked in gray, its tall rectangular panels serving as screens for Brown to duck behind for his countless costume changes. Kurt Jung’s lighting serves the story well, and Kathy Maxwell’s projections combine with Katharine Horowitz’s sound design to make the riot scenes crackle with tension.
Speaking of sound, the show’s true-to-the-times modern jazz soundtrack is great for the atmosphere, but the volume is sometimes way too high. This is a show in which words are very important, so best not to obscure them. For they forge an important link to aspects of recent history that some Americans believe best left untold.
‘A Unique Assignment’
When: Through April 7
Where: History Theatre, 30 E. 10th St., St. Paul
Tickets: $64-$25, available at 651-292-4323 or historytheatre.com
Capsule: An important piece of theater filled with gripping storytelling.
Rob Hubbard can be reached at wordhub@yahoo.com.
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