ìCUSTERî

By Robert Ingham

 

 

Genre: Drama

 

Cast: 8

Male: Custer, Benteen, Reno

Female: Libby Custer

Ensemble: 2 male, 2 female (or more if desired)

              These are substantial roles, must be able to sing a capella

              All ethnicities desired

 

 

 

CUSTER is performed in limbo. It is elegant in construction, style and word. It is an historical retrospective inspired by George A. Custer's last stand at Little Big Horn. It is a consideration of defining moments and how people define them differently, and it is about the elasticity of interpretation, the inability to control what other people think. In a larger sense, however, it is about life-altering decision-making, informed by lack of perspective and self-interest, including self-preservation, although Custer's predominant objective had little to do with preservation on this earth.

 

 I performed in the award-winning premiere of CUSTER in 1980 at The Kennedy Center. It was a joyous experience. I portrayed Custer's wife, ìLibby,î so I paid particular attention to Custer's personality, especially his narcissism, temperament and caprice. The other army officers depicted in the play, Frederick Benteen and Marcus Reno, were powerful personalities, but neither was as mercurial as Custer, nor did they compare in panache. John McMartin played Benteen with a razor sharp wit, a well of fury, tempered by southern manners. It is a thrilling part. The intensity, intelligence, and fundamental, opposing beliefs between these two orators makes for a hellish courtroom drama that is as frustrating and thrilling as ìInherit The Wind.î

The thrust of the play involves the three characters taxing one another to justify their actions, but one has a sense that if they could compromise, admit some accountability, they would be better off. Benteen is more evolved and ready to accept his fate. Poor Reno is in a personal hell of his own.  No matter how he struggles to defend his actions, he knows he was a coward. He saved his menís lives, but he did not charge when the call for help came. For a soldier, that is a crime. Because he is a true soldier, he will never be able to forgive himself and will live in his hell for eternity. Custer, on the other hand, never admits any accountability. Libby is a First Lady. She cannot be swayed. She supports her husband. So, the latter three characters remain stuck.

 

The four ensemble players are the young men and women waiting for battle to begin. They tell us their stories, how they see things, sing music when they get scared, write home to their wives and serve to reenact the battle. They are in limbo as well. They have committed no crimes but are still sorting out exactly what happened. Itís as if they are suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome. What happened was so ghastly that their minds simply cannot comprehend.

 

In my opinion this play is more relevant than ever. There are contemporary parallels to be drawn from CUSTER. We follow such leaders into battle, leaders who have foibles, leaders all too human. As in Iraq, we still commandeer the fate of indigenous people and prescribe behavior to meet our needs. Or, to be more specific, it is virtually impossible not to draw connections between George Armstrong Custer and George W. Bush. There is a shared philosophy of ìWe will stay the course no matter what reality is placed before us.î On occasion, those who have dared to disagree with these commanders in chief have been publicly rebuked, demoted, or exposed. Both George Custer and George Bush have administered public justice in personal ways. Valerie Plame would be able to speak on this subject. Or, read the attached August 14^th, 2005 article in the New York Times, ìSomeone Tell The President that the War is Over,î by Frank Rich. In it, ìRumsfield publicly rebuked the Armyís chief of staff, Eric Shinseki, after the general dared tell the truth: that several hundred thousand troops would be required to secure Iraq.î Custer placed close family members and personal friends in charge of important posts, as Bush does, so both leaders often seek advice from unprofessional advisors. Further similarity is evident in the book ìCrazy Horse and Custer, The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors,î by Stephen Ambrose. Students will discover that Crazy Horse, Custer, and Bush were too entrenched in their respective culture to understand the culture of their opponents.

 

Politics aside, CUSTER is about interdependence, in battle and in love. The transcendent panoply of human emotion and drive governs behavior then, now and always. The play is abiding, alluring; it is about hero worship, compliance and consequenceÖ 'Whom will I imprint on? Whom will I follow into battle? Upon what song, what battle cry, will I bequeath reason and ride to my death?'

 

 The music in CUSTER is rowdy, compelling or sad. It serves the piece with specificity, embellishing the Spartan structure beat by beat with appropriate intensity, but neither the music nor the play builds to crescendo. Instead, we are escorted to a moment of rumination after retired General Benteen has granted a battalion of young cavalrymen the favor of an inspection. ìWell, small honors are sweet, so at the appointed hour I bounded down my terraces, past my arbors and bushes blooming, to stand at the side of the dusty road and watch these young aspirants to fame at thirteen dollars the month go on marching past. And as I stand there, watching them go on down the road, it occurs to me that there is an emotion missing. There should be some sort of 'God, I wish I was going with you,' from the old soldier. But I examined myself, and it was not there. Wherever that dusty road might take them, I'd been down it. It was an interesting voyage all in all and I don't regret it. But I'd done it. And now, I'd rather go find a good baseball game.î

 

 ìIt was an interesting voyage all in all and I don't regret it.î That is the estimation of oneís lifetime that the play, CUSTER, urges its audience to aspire to, prevailing upon the unfledged to live to their greatest satisfaction. This portrayal of momentous people in poignant conflict makes the message all the more accessible. CUSTER challenges us to maximize our lives through thought, effort, accountability and courage, not in charging ahead in reckless pursuit of glory, but in charging ahead with joy, gratitude and the knowledge that we walk this way by once.