Review: HOW I LEARNED WHAT I LEARNED at Marin Theatre Company

Steven Anthony Jones is a resounding success portraying the late August Wilson in How I Learned What I Learned, Wilson's 2003 one-man autobiographical memoir produced in partnership with Lorraine Hansberry Theatre and Ubuntu Theater Project. The show covers plenty of ground from Wilson's early days on the streets of Pittsburgh's mostly African-American Hill District, where the multiple Pulitzer Prize-winning Pittsburgh Cycle of plays were set.

One-person plays present a particular set of qualifications; the quality of the performance, the material presented, and the overall look of the production. Jones, who bears a close resemblance to Wilson, is no stranger to one-man shows, having starred as Thurgood Marshall in Thurgood in 2015 (also directed by Hall). His Wilson is measured, supremely wise, and congenial. The play is part collection of neighborhood anecdotes reflecting on the unique characters that brushed paths with Wilson and part lecture on the history of racism and the Black American experience.

Wilson's words are beautifully lyrical, and the piece flows like good jazz, presenting a common thread but riffing on a variety of excursions. Clocking in at an hour forty-five, t it challenged the endurance of this theatre-goer. Director Hall knows Jones well and allows him to carry the burden of the show. Her backdrop is a wall of sheets of paper - kudos to scenic designer Edward E. Haynes Jr. - ostensibly drafts of Wilson's many plays, beautifully lit by Stephanie Johnson. The vignettes are announced using typewritten subtitles with excellent use of vintage jazz and African-American chants by sound designer Everett Elton Bradman.

How I Learned What I Learned is a homage to Wilson's nurturing and maturing in the neighborhood that helped shape his worldview and vision of the black experience. It contains plenty of Wilson's astute personal anecdotes, sage advice, and biting social humor ("My ancestors have been in America since the early 17th century," he says, "and for the first 244 years, we never had a problem finding a job."). He comes alive in the stories of his eagerness to learn to write and the small jobs he took to achieve his goals.

Jones provides an authenticity to the role which endears you to the stories. He's like an older mentor dispensing wisdom born from having lived through a troubled, tumultuous time, speaking with the maturity and beauty that time and perseverance afford.

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How I Learned What I Learned continues through February 3, 2018.
Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley.
Tickets: www.marintheatre.org or (415) 388-5208.

Photos by Kevin Berne.

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