We have supported Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret since the beginning and we are so proud to see them perform their biggest show yet!
You will not want to miss this special performance of Last Out in Staten Island, NY at the St. George Theater in partnership with Tunnel to Towers dedicated to the brave 9/11 first responders. Tickets for the April 9th performance can be purchased at https://lastoutplay.com/tickets-2/ or using the QR code below.
Check out what our Executive Director, David Cook, had to say about his experience watching Last Out.
Raw. Visceral. I laughed. I mostly cried. All words and sentiments I would use to describe Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret, written and performed by Scott Mann. Scott is a retired Green Beret and leader of Operation Pineapple Express, an extraordinary effort to extract Afghan allies leading up to, and after the United States’ chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. The play starts with the last moments of Master Sergeant Danny Patton’s life after hitting a roadside bomb in Afghanistan. For two more hours, the audience is transported through Danny Patton’s Special Forces career through gritty flashbacks – all narrated by angel-like operators tasked with helping Danny to let go of the burdens he carries. The angel operators’ mission is to find and relinquish the one burden keeping him from ascending to Valhalla, the heaven reserved for slain warriors.
Simply put, everyone needs to see this play. The portrayal of a Green Beret, his family, and the struggles they encounter during years of continuous deployments is incredible. My wife and I saw the play together – after more than 10 years of marriage, we had a conversation we had never had before on the ride home. Neither of us knew the full extent of the individual difficulties we experienced during my deployments. We would have gone without knowing if it hadn’t been for Last Out.
I saw Danny Patton fight a three-front war throughout the play. The first is obvious; the one downrange against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The second is at home. The tension and friction between Danny and his wife, Lynn, played by Heather Corrigan, causes an increasing uneasiness among the couple. The third front Danny is fighting is one we don’t talk about enough – the struggle he faces within himself. Danny is torn between two worlds; one with his team and the mission, and the other is home, being a husband, father, and functioning member of American society. With every deployment his home feels more foreign. This is a strange feeling that plagues most service members and veterans – and one that is very difficult to overcome.
The art of storytelling is as cathartic as it is entertaining. Scott Mann’s all veteran and military-connected cast delivers an eerily realistic glimpse into every service member’s three-front war. Last Out is exactly what this generation of veterans needs.
We will continue to support the great initiatives of Scott Mann through Last Out. Our ability to translate the struggles of our Servicemembers, Veterans and their families into lasting policy change is what makes SOAA unique and, more importantly, effective.
