Photo Flash: Portrait of a Neighborhood - JITNEY Begins Tonight on Broadway

Performances begin tonight, Wednesday, December 28, for the Broadway debut of August Wilson's Jitney, directed by Tony Award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Gem of the Ocean). The limited engagement of August Wilson's Jitney opens Thursday, January 19 at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). Scroll down for a portrait of the cast!

The ensemble of nine cast members boasts seven veterans of August Wilson plays. The cast features Harvy Blanks (Jitney in WNYC's Greene Space American Century Cycle recording, Two Trains Runningat Two River Theater Company) as "Shealy;" Tony Award nominee Anthony Chisholm (Radio Golf, Gem of the Ocean, Two Trains Running, Jitney at Second Stage) as "Fielding," Obie and Theatre World Award winner Brandon J. Dirden (The Piano Lesson, Clybourne Park, "The Americans") as "Booster;" André Holland (Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Moonlight, "American Horror Story") as "Youngblood;" Carra Patterson (Significant Other, Wit, Straight Outta Compton) as "Rena," Michael Potts (The Book of Mormon, Aubergine) as "Turnbo;" Keith Randolph Smith (Fences, King Hedley II) as "Doub;" Ray Anthony Thomas (Jitney and Fences in WNYC's Greene Space American Century Cycle recordings, Between Riverside and Crazy) as "Philmore;" and Drama Desk Award winner John Douglas Thompson (Joe Turner's Come and Gone at the Mark Taper Forum, Satchmo at the Waldorf) as "Becker."

Only one of the ten plays in two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's masterful The American Century Cycle has never been seen on Broadway - until now. Set in the early 1970s, this richly textured piece follows a group of men trying to eke out a living by driving unlicensed cabs, or jitneys. When the city threatens to board up the business and the boss' son returns from prison, tempers flare, potent secrets are revealed and the fragile threads binding these people together may come undone at last.

The creative team for August Wilson's Jitney includes David Gallo (scenic design); Toni-Leslie James (costume design); Jane Cox (lighting design), Darron L West (sound design); Bill Sims, Jr. (original music); Robert-Charles Vallance (hair and makeup design) and Thomas Schall (fight director).

MTC has a long history of co-producing works by this legendary playwright (King Hedley II, Seven Guitarsand Piano Lesson) and is proud to produce this Broadway debut.

The cast of August Wilson's Jitney