The Rugged Path (by Robert E. Sherwood; produced by The Playwrights' Company) represents Robert Sherwood's first playwriting in five years and Spencer Tracy's first Broadway play acting in 15. Something so newsworthy should add up to something more notable.
Playwright Sherwood is writing about the last five years in terms of Morey Vinion, the "liberal" editor of his brother-in-law's "conservative" paper. After the Nazi invasion, Morey conies out for aid to Russia and collides head-on with the paper's Red-baiting, policymaking, Mammon-serving, isolationist business manager. He chucks his job, joins the Navy, becomes the cook on a destroyer.
The destroyer is sunk in the...