Play has no answers, but poses excellent questions to ponder

By ADAM CROWE
A Seat on the Aisle

Most of us will never have to worry about “who” gets to tell our story. Our daily toils and travails will never be blasted on the Internet or covered by television/cable news. And after we’re gone? Who cares? We won’t hear about it.

The latest production from American Lives Theater (ALT) addresses this (and many other) questions from an historical perspective. Arlington, or Your Forgotten American Hero is a world premier from playwright Andrew Kramer, ALT’s literary director.

The play, though not strictly a documentary, unfolds the story of Oliver (Billy) Sipple. Sipple was a Marine and Vietnam Vet, as well as a gay man. In 1975, he happened to be standing near Sarah Jane Moore in San Francisco as she attempted to shoot President Gerald Ford. Sipple’s almost reflexive act of pushing her arm when the gun appeared kept her from shooting Ford. American Hero? Sure, but only briefly.

Clockwise from Michael Hosp, seated center: Rob Johansen, Evan Wolfgang, Suzanne Fleenor, Jay Hemphill, and Jonathan Studdard. (Photo by Rob Slaven / IndyGhostLight.com)

At the time, Sipple was out to friends in San Francisco, but still closeted to his Michigan family. His instant fame was almost immediately followed by rejection and condemnation when friends, active in the politics of gay rights, saw an opportunity to make the point that gay men could be heroes, too. As Sipple tried to keep his personal life private, he lost control of the story and lost the support of his family back in Michigan. Those relationships never fully recovered.

Kramer tells the story through time jumps and media clips from the era. We are in Sipple’s mind, as he re-traces the story and its myriad twists and turns.

Director (and ALT Artistic Director) Chris Saunders has done an exceptional job of casting his show. As Sipple, Michael Hosp is exceptional, sympathetic, angry, and entirely captivating. Jay Hemphill brings the magnetism that was Harvey Milk. His Milk is laser-focused on the opportunity that Sipple as a gay hero presents. He can’t see the damage happening right in front of his face. Jonathan Studdard, Rob Johansen, and Evan Wolfgang are all excellent, creating a number of other characters in Sipple’s life. It was especially nice to see Phoenix founding member Suzanne Fleenor in the cast. Her turns as Sipple’s horrified Mother and his sympathetic landlord are standouts.

A startling (and historically correct) moment comes when Sipple is reminded that a few short weeks earlier, a Secret Service agent had stopped Squeaky Fromm in a similar attack. That Hero was a nice married Secret Service officer, and so his valor and value was never questioned. Sipple never received his expected invitation to the White House. A single thank-you note from Ford came too late to be consequential.

Bottom line: Arlington, or Your Forgotten American Hero closes this weekend. It is an excellent way to start your Pride Month. But, more than that, it is an excellent chance to expand your awareness of an era that should seem far more ancient than it really is. The America of 2026 still sees parents reject their children for being themselves, and sadly, politicians and preachers still use homosexuality to enrage their followers. Does History repeat, or merely (as Mark Twain suggested) Rhyme? Arlington, or Your Forgotten American Hero has no definite answers, but the questions are well worth your time.

Arlington, or Your Forgotten American Hero runs through June 7 at The Phoenix Cultural Center in downtown Indianapolis. Tickets are available at phoenixtheatre.org.

Read more great play reviews from A Seat on the Aisle at asota.wordpress.com.