Christopher Demos-Brown's "American Hero" -- at the George Street Playhouse Jan. 30 to Feb. 25 -- centers on an Iraqi war veteran but it's not a play about war. Instead, it's about heroes, asking how we define them, why they're important and if they reflect us and our actual values.
"I find heroism a very tricky notion," Demos-Brown said in an interview with NJ Advance Media. "It's so easy to manipulate."
Demos-Brown began thinking about heroism after hearing a Medal of Honor winner give a talk about saving the lives of his platoon mates during the Vietnam War. The audience was quiet and still, completely captivated by this story of bravery and valor.
But as the man's talk moved into more contemporary issues, his words became "racially questionable and then downright racist," Demos-Brown said. Many members of the audience shifted in discomfort, but no one stood and left, the playwright recalled.
"The fact that this guy had been anointed a hero, no one was going to question his views. He'd been covered in a veneer of Teflon," Demos-Brown said. "I started thinking about the concept of heroism and how it washes away all other blemishes."
The show's original title was "Fear Up Harsh." The phrase comes from a military field manual and is one in a series of terms referring to increasing degrees of force used in interrogation. Demos-Brown likes the term -- "It's very aggressive and has a meaning that's somewhat obscure," he said -- but said its obscurity promised to hinder drawing an audience.
"American Hero" is the second play in a trilogy exploring American injustice. The first was "American Son," which enjoyed a successful run at George Street in 2017. The drama centered on an estranged interracial couple called to their local police station after learning their college-bound son had been detained.
The play was widely praised -- one critic said the show was a "timely, important work ... also harrowing to watch" while another said he'd reviewed 55 shows in 2017 and "American Son" was his favorite.
That show is now headed to Broadway, something that dazzles the playwright. While he's written seven full-length plays, Demos-Brown still works full-time as a civil litigator.
"Litigators have drama in their bones and you need that to be a playwright," he said. "There are techniques in legal writing that I think work as well if not better in dramatic writing."
AMERICAN HERO
George Street Playhouse
103 College Farm Rd., New Brunswick
Tickets: $40-65, available online at https://georgestreetplayhouse.org. Jan. 30 - Feb. 25.
Natalie Pompilio is a freelance writer based in Philadelphia. She can be reached at nataliepompilio@yahoo.com. Find her on Twitter @nataliepompilio. Find NJ.com/Entertainment on Facebook.