Arizona Theatre Company Presents August Wilson's TWO TRAINS RUNNING

August Wilson's Two Trains Running, the seventh in his 10-part, decade-by-decade saga of ordinary African Americans in the turbulent 20th century that The New York Times described as his "most adventurous and honest attempt to reveal the intimate heart of history," will be on stage at Tucson's Temple of Music & Art Jan. 19-Feb. 9 and at the Herberger Theater Center in Phoenix, Feb. 14-March 3.

Lou Bellamy, who directed the 2006 off-Broadway production, returns to Arizona Theatre Company (David Ivers, Artistic Director; Billy Russo, Managing Director) where he directed Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Fences during the 2015-16 season, A Raisin in the Sun (2016) and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2010). Two Trains Running was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama following its Broadway premiere in 1992.

"Lou Bellamy stands alone as an interpreter of August Wilson's work," said ATC Artistic Director David Ivers. "Having him return to Arizona Theatre Company to direct Two Trains Running will add depth, understanding and a riveting connection to this remarkable work."

The year is 1969 and America is in the crossroads of a revolution with a new president, rising racial tensions and the civil rights movement that is sending tremors through Pittsburgh's soon-to-be gentrified Hill District. Two Trains Running takes place in a demolition-slated neighborhood restaurant run by Memphis Lee, who must decide if he should allow the government to take over his building or sell it to a ruthless businessman. All the while, diner regulars fight to hang on to their solidarity and sense of community at the same time they dream about their futures and confront the brutal realties of the present.

Described in Variety as "perfection ... A work by a writer at the peak of his powers," Chris Jones wrote in The Chicago Tribune that Two Trains Running captures "that unique Wilson understanding of compassion, realism and revolutionary fervor. He wanted you to understand how that diner trapped everyone inside its walls, and yet he also wanted you to want nothing so much as a regular spot in one of its booths, listening to the poetry of everyday conversation."

James Craven stars as Memphis. He is joined by Alan Bomar Jonesas Holloway, Erika LaVonn as Risa, Cedric Mays as Sterling, Lester Purry as Wolf, Dennis Spears as West and Ahanti Young as Hambone.

Bellamy will be joined by long-time collaborators costume designer Mathew LeFebvre and lighting designer Don Darnutzer, who worked with him on productions of Two Trains Running, Fences and A Raisin in the Sun.

Tickets for Two Trains Running are now on sale at www.arizonatheatre.org or at the Temple of Music & Art and Herberger Theater Center box offices.

Two Trains Running will be followed by American Mariachi, by José Cruz González (Tucson: March 9-30) and Things I Know to be True, by Andrew Bovell, directed by Mark Clements (Tucson: April 20-May 11).

The 2018/2019 season is dedicated to Geri Silvi, ATC's long-time Box Office Manager in Phoenix. The season is sponsored by I. Michael and Beth Kasser.

ATC has standardized curtain times in Tucson and Phoenix. Performance times will be: Tuesdays through Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m., Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. and all matinees will be held at 2:00 p.m.

For more information, go to www.arizonatheatre.org or call the box office in Tucson at (520) 622-2823 or in Phoenix at (602) 256-6995.

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