The American Five Reviews

Washington Post- Highly Recommended

"...At Ford's Theatre, first-time playwright Chess Jakobs is making a sensational debut with "The American Five," a smart and captivating origin story of King's "I Have a Dream" speech. Far from a dry telling of the lead-up to the 1963 March on Washington, the play makes a fresh and compelling case for King's ideals through the elements of great drama - complex characters, dynamic relationships and bristling, sparkly dialogue. It's an extraordinary work of historical fiction, and the most lively and engaging I've seen of that particular chapter."

MD Theatre Guide- Highly Recommended

"...The world premiere of Chess Jakob's new play, "The American Five," currently at Ford's Theatre offers audiences a fictionalized glimpse into the struggles, setbacks, and unbending determination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his inner circle as they build the civil rights movement and organize the March on Washington."

BroadwayWorld- Recommended

"...THE AMERICAN FIVE is an exciting start to a season at Ford’s filled with classics and new, audacious work. Though it doesn’t necessarily add new information to the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., it does ask its audience to consider the many identities of American citizens that saw (and continue to see) resonance in King’s struggle."

DC Theater Arts- Highly Recommended

"...Not often in American theater — or not often enough — does a play come along like Chess Jakobs’ The American Five, now premiering at Ford’s. In dramatizing the making of a momentous mobilization for social justice (the 1963 March on Washington, during which Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his historic “I Have a Dream” speech), Jakobs’ powerfully crafted play has the effect of galvanizing in its audience a response that is itself a catalyst for activism for hope and change. In rousing resistance to injustice and inspiring cohesion and connection, the play is a triumph of doing what it’s about."