‘The Royale’ throws a power punch to the soul

What price glory?

That is the ultimate yet far from only question posed in “The Royale,” Marco Ramirez’s astonishing 75-minute play — a tightly laced drama about race, success, trust and boxing that delivers a power punch to the soul and might just be the most thrilling piece of theater now on a Chicago stage.

The American Theater Company production’s impact is heightened by the precision-tooled direction of Jaime Castaneda, who has ideally orchestrated the author’s stirring poetry and rhythmic beats, and assembled one of those casts where you are prompted to proclaim: Only in Chicago.

The story spun by Ramirez (a playwright whose television credits include “Sons of Anarchy,” “Orange Is the New Black” and the upcoming “Marvel’s Daredevil”) is hardly a new one. But the music of his writing, and the stark brilliance of the play’s realization by an impeccable cast, are exceptional.

Ramirez has loosely based “The Royale” on a crucial moment in the career of Jack Johnson — the boxer who, at the height of the Jim Crow era, became the first African-American to be pitted against a white champion and win the world heavyweight boxing title. In the process, of course, he stirred up the ugly stew of hatred and bigotry that saw his victory as an unacceptable event. And he suffered the pain of his victory in ways he could only partially imagine.

The Johnson character (also the central figure in “The Great White Hope,” Howard Sackler’s fabled 1967 play) is called Jay Jackson here, and he is played by Jerod Haynes, an actor with an athlete’s body and all the bristling, sardonic intelligence and easy charm that defines this man so determined to make history, and to enjoy the lush life the title would bring with it.

To do so, his savvy manager, Max (Philip Earl Johnson in just the latest of a series of galvanic turns) must lure Bixby, the white champion, out of retirement —not an easy task, but one Jackson is willing to sacrifice a huge purse to accomplish.

The deal is eventually agreed upon, with Fish (the immensely likable Julian Parker), a young black fighter who impressed Jackson in an earlier fight, serving as his sparring partner and friend, and Wynton (the wily, understated Edwin Lee Gibson), his veteran trainer, by his side. Wynton knows better than anyone that when push comes to shove it is just one-on-one in the blood sport of the ring.

Only very late in the story does the real warning bell go off, and it comes in the form of a sudden appearance by Jay’s sister, Nina (Mildred Marie Langford in a performance so breathtaking it feels like a rock-hard punch). Suffice it to say you will not soon forget her.

One of the more intriguing things about “The Royale” is that it makes you use your imagination when it comes to the real violence of this sport. Yet the world of the ring is fully palpable, as is the potentially lethal arena crowd and the world far beyond the ring.

Brian Sidney Bembridge’s set and lighting are minimalist but haunting. Christine Pascual’s costumes are period perfect. And above all, Stephanie Paul’s composition and musical direction (and Mikhail Fiksel’s sound design) are invaluable elements, with Jeffery Freelon and Eric Gerard using body percussion to impeccable effect. From first bell to last, this production is a title holder.

NOTE: Initially produced by Los Angeles’ Center Theatre Group, the Chicago production features a revised script, and it is this new version that is slated to be produced by London’s Bush Theatre.