'Last Out' performances are free for local veterans, thanks to Gary Sinise Foundation

Widely known for playing a veteran in "Forrest Gump," actor-director Gary Sinise has been putting his fame to work on behalf of American veterans for years.

His Gary Sinise Foundation is bringing the military drama "Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret" to Milwaukee for three performances Sept. 22 and 23. The performances will be free for veterans and their families.

Written by and featuring retired Lt. Col Scott Mann, "Last Out" employs a cast made up largely of veterans and members of military families in telling the story of how the war in Afghanistan affects a Green Beret master sergeant.

A 23-year Army veteran, Mann has talked in past interviews about how storytelling has helped him through the post-traumatic stress and darkness he experienced following his service in Afghanistan.

In a phone interview, Sinise said he sees affinities between the experiences of Afghanistan vets like Mann and those of Vietnam-era vets. Sinise directed "Tracers," a drama created by Vietnam veterans, in 1984 at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre. Mann read about that production in Sinise's memoir "Grateful American."

As powerful as the theatrical experience of "Last Out" is, what happens after the play can be just as powerful, Sinise said. Post-show discussions with audiences sometimes encourage veterans to "open up in a way that they never had before," he said.

"We want people to know there is a way to process your grief and things you may be struggling with. There's a way you can struggle well," Sinise said.

Performances of "Last Out" take place at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 22, and 1 and 7:30 p.m. Sept. 23 at the Broadway Theater Center, 158 N. Broadway. Tickets are free for military personnel (active duty and veterans) and their families, first responders and their families and families of "fallen heroes." For tickets, visit skylightmusictheatre.org/last-out.

Sinise has a personal connection to Milwaukee's Skylight Music Theatre: He and Skylight artistic director Michael Unger are both products of Highland Park High School theater in suburban Chicago.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: 'Last Out' performances are free for local veterans and their families