Based on a true story, 'Savages' takes place in 1902, a few years after the United States invaded the Philippines to free them from Spanish colonial rule. But American troops now find themselves fighting a long, costly war against the people they originally came to liberate. Major Littleton Waller, an aristocratic Marine with a distinguished record, has been charged with killing prisoners of war--in an act he calls fully justified. Stricken by disease, anguish and a profound sense of betrayal, Waller is allowed special quarters to recuperate over the night before he receives his verdict. There he is guarded by John Hanley, a young corporal who is eager to penetrate the mysteries of counter-insurgency ethics and strategy. Hanley is assisted by Maridol Amaya, a young Filipina nurse who must balance her personal loyalties against her commitment to the healing arts. Army General Adna Chaffee, who set the court-martial in motion, is simultaneously at war with the insurgents, Washington armchair generals and American public opinion. Nelson treats all of her characters with sympathy and touches of humor. The play's fusion of meticulously researched U.S. military history with Asian mysticism yields a spellbinding vision of war and its casualties.
