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The Pittsburgh Cycle
- He is best known for a series of 10 plays, collectively called The Pittsburgh Cycle (or The Century Cycle), which chronicle the experiences and heritage of the African-American community in the 20th century.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/August_Wilson
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Especially in light of the social justice uprisings happening in America as we speak, the plays of August Wilson hold extra significance and should be mandatory reading for white actors like myself especially. 10 Best Plays by August Wilson. Fences; The Piano Lesson; Two Trains Running; King Hedley II; How I Learned What I Learned; Gem of the ...
- Jitney (1979) Premiere: 1982, Allegheny Repertory Theatre, Pittsburgh; 2000 premiere Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre. Synopsis: Set in an unofficial taxi station threatened with demolition in 1977, Jitney explores the lives and relationships of drivers, highlighting conflicts between generations and different concepts of legacy and identity.
- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1982) Ebony Jo-Ann performs Ma Rainey’s monologue exclusively for August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand. Premiere: 1984, Yale Repertory Theatre; subsequent 1984 Broadway opening at the Cort Theatre.
- Fences (1984) Rosalyn Coleman (Rose), Ray Anthony Thomas (Troy) and Horace Rogers (Jim Bono) perform a scene from Fences exclusively for August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand.
- Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (1984) Premiere: 1986, Yale Repertory Theatre; 1988, Broadway opening at Ethel Barrymore Theater. Synopsis: Set in a Pittsburgh boardinghouse in 1911, the ensemble play includes characters who were former slaves and examines the residents’ experiences with racism and discrimination.
Jul 18, 2024 · August Wilson’s plays offer an unparalleled look into the African-American experience, each contributing to a larger narrative of resilience, identity, and cultural heritage.
Wilson's best-known plays are Fences (1985) (which won a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award), The Piano Lesson (1990) (a Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award), Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and Joe Turner's Come and Gone.
- Gem of the Ocean, 1900s (US/UK) Though written second-to-last in 2003, Gem of the Ocean kicks off the American Century Cycle in the year 1904. It begins on the eve of Aunt Ester’s 285th birthday.
- Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, 1910s (US/UK) Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is set in a Pittsburgh all-Black boarding house in 1911. The play explores the lives of each denizen of the boarding house, who all have different relationships to the legacy of slavery and to the urban present.
- Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, 1920s (US/UK) This cornerstone play — adapted in to a 2020 Netflix film starring Viola Davis and Chadwick Boseman — honors the life of Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, the “Mother of Blues.”
- The Piano Lesson, 1930s (US/UK) It is 1936, and Boy Willie arrives in Pittsburgh from the South in a battered truck loaded with watermelons to sell. He has an opportunity to buy some land down home, but he has to come up with the money right quick.
Jun 3, 2020 · The best known of Wilson's plays, Fences presents the hardness a man develops after his athletic talents and opportunity for a better future are wasted because of racism; only years later, he's...
Dec 11, 2020 · From "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" to "Fences," here's a decade-by-decade guide to the series of plays — known as the Pittsburgh Cycle — by August Wilson.
