Theater: Rolling Thunder

Some actors occupy the stage; a few rule it. Some actors hold an audience; a few possess it. Some actors light up a scene; a few ignite the play. These combustible few blaze with the x factors of acting—intensity, intelligence, and authority. Theirs is a royalty apart from role, and when an Olivier, Gielgud, Nicol Williamson or Irene Papas treads the stage, their fellow actors are as rapt as the audience. Though the marquees of Broadway do not bear his name, Moses Gunn is of this regal breed.

Gunn is black and Broadway is...