'Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret' will play at Topeka Performing Arts Center
Retired U.S. Army Green Beret Lt. Col. Scott Mann served in the Army for more than 20 years.
During that time, he served in the Afghanistan War and later retired in 2012. After retiring, he dealt with post-traumatic stress, but he later realized telling his story could help him and others with the reality of war.
That's when he began to develop his play "Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret," which can be seen in Topeka later this week.
"So, I'd been out of the Army for probably four years, and I felt that most of the country at that time, we were still in Afghanistan," Mann told The Capital-Journal. "My son was looking to join the Army, and I thought, 'Wow, my son's going to go fight a war that I couldn't finish.'"
Mann said his son entering the Army is what motivated him to begin writing "Last Out."
"I felt like most of the country didn't even know we were still at war," he said. "And it was the same men and women who were going back day after day, month after month, year after year to fight this thing. And I just felt compelled to shed a light on that and tell that story."
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Informing civilians about the reality of war
Telling the stories of veterans and the obstacles they faced is what the audience can expect at the showing of "Last Out."
"Last Out" has been performed across the country since 2018 and reached thousands of audiences. It stars the character, U.S. Army Green Beret Danny Patton — played by Mann — who is trapped between his family obligations and his mission in Afghanistan.
"I wrote this to play with kind of a couple of high-level objectives," Mann said. "The first one was to inform civilians and politicians on the impact and cost of modern war."
He said he also wrote it to not only reach civilians and politicians but the families of military members and veterans — to let them see their story up on stage so that they could process and make meaning out of their own lived experience.
Alongside Mann is a cast of combat veterans and military-family members. The play is directed by Karl Bury.
"It's so authentic that when you sit in that audience as a veteran or military family member, you literally feel like you're watching your own life," Mann said. "And what that does is it opens them up to the harder conversations that they've been pushing down for years."
At the end of every show is a talk-back session where cast members and the audience can reflect on the show and the impact it held while watching and performing.
When will 'Last Out' be showing in Topeka?
"Last Out" will be showing two days at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday The Topeka Performing Arts Center.
Tickets are $25 for standard admission. Tickets for veterans, military, first-responders and the families of fallen soldiers are free. All tickets can be purchased online or in person 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or an hour prior to the event at the TPAC Box Office.
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The Gary Sinise Foundation, established in 2011 under the direction of award-winning actor and humanitarian Gary Sinise is presenting and producing the play under its Community and Education programmatic pillar.
“Nearly 40 years ago, we proudly brought 'Tracers' to Steppenwolf Theatre to help share the stories of hardship and struggle faced by our returning Vietnam War veterans to let them know that their service to our country was appreciated and that their sacrifices would never be forgotten," Sinise said in a release.
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“With a cast primarily made up of veterans and military-family members, 'Tracers' was a powerful healing experience not just for audiences but for our talented cast that portrayed these untold stories. Today’s veterans are facing similar challenges, with too many coming home feeling isolated and alone as they struggle with the invisible wounds of war.
"As the Founder of the Gary Sinise Foundation, I am honored to present 'Last Out' under our Foundation’s ‘Community and Education’ pillar to shine a light on all the service members who defend the very freedoms that we are all so blessed to enjoy.”
Keishera Lately is the business reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. She can be reached at klately@cjonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @Lately_KT.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: 'Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret' at Topeka Performing Arts Center
