The ALLIANCE THEATRE Company will honor the late August Wilson by dedicating their fall season to his work.
With a voice that is passionate and profound, and a vision that continues to uplift a generation, August Wilson crafted a ten-play cycle inspired by the American experience in the 20th century. Join the Alliance as his final two plays bring the power of that legacy full circle in a rare theatrical event as Gem of the Ocean and Radio Golf are performed in rotating repertory, each featuring the same company of actors. If you lovEd Wilson's popular hits King Hedley II, Fences or The Piano Lesson, you'll be captivated by the two stories that begin and end his groundbreaking cycle.
An evocative story of redemption and renewal, Gem of the Ocean is set against the legacy of emancipation in 1904 Pittsburgh. Here, the legendary Aunt Ester's home at 1839 Wylie Street in the Hill District is an almost magical haven for new possibilities. But her resources are tested when a handsome young man named Citizen Barlow migrating north from Alabama arrives, fleeing a dangerous past.
Radio Golf brings audiences to Pittsburgh in 1997 into the heart of a political campaign that is challenging what kind of future the city will build. Harmond Wilks, a successful real estate entrepreneur, is primed to become the city's first black mayor. This, his destiny, comes head-to-head with his heritage when he discovers the run down house at 1839 Wylie Street he must demolish to achieve a dream of urban renewal is the very same home where Aunt Ester once lived.
August Wilson's plays have been a vital part of our Alliance's programming since the 1988/89 season. Producing these two plays completes Alliance's commitment producing all ten plays in his Century Cycle, having previously taken Atlanta on a journey through the other eight plays in the cycle over the last two decades (1998-99 Joe's Turner Come and Gone, 1989-90 Fences, 1990-91
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, 1991-92 The Piano Lesson, 1993-94 Two Trains Running, 1996-97 Seven Guitars, 1999-00 Jitney, and 2003-04 King Hedley II). Wilson's memorable characters and rich poetic dialogue have made his plays Atlanta favorites, and both
Gem of the Ocean and Radio Golf share these qualities. Our audience packed the house for Wilson's 2005 Memorial at the
ALLIANCE THEATRE, and now our Alliance and
True Colors Theatre Company will celebrate all ten plays while presenting the first and last plays in Wilson's Cycle. These productions complete the joining together of
Kenny Leon and Susan V. Booth's artistic leaderships to produce and honor one of America's greatest playwrights, an epic chronicler of African-American history on stage.
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