9 Circles

9 Circles is a play based on the military career and subsequent civilian trial of murderer Steven Dale Green.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Bill Cain, the author, is a jesuit priest.^[1][2] The play's title is derived from Dante Alighieri's Inferno—where the protagonist navigates a descent into the "9 circles of hell". The play is structured with the protagonist passing through his discharge from the Army and various judicial and administrative procedures, roughly paralleling the 9 circles of hell in Dante's Inferno. Cain structured the play so other cast members would return to play multiple characters, at each different circle.

The play won praise for being nuanced, and not taking the easy path of demonizing the protagonist.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Chris Jones, reviewing a Chicago production of the play, for the Chicago Tribune, reported that audience members concluded the play meant to imply that Green, who was originally from Midland, Texas, which had been United States President George W. Bush's primary home, had the assistance of the President himself in clearing his entry into the Army in spite of his criminal record.^[2]

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