August Wilson's TWO TRAINS RUNNING Set for Seattle Rep's 2017-18 Season

Seattle Repertory Theatre is bringing back the work of Seattle legend August Wilson, a two-time Pulitzer Prize winner and playwright. Two Trains Running will be performed in Seattle Rep's Bagley Wright Theatre as part of its 2017/2018 season. The full 2017/2018 season announcement will be made later this spring.

Two Trains Running is the seventh play in Wilson's highly acclaimEd Pittsburgh Cycle, consisting of 10 plays set in different decades of the 20th century that portrayed the African American experience. The play, which premiered on Broadway in 1992 and has since been produced across the country, takes place in the 1960s amid the Civil Rights Movement and focuses on one man named Memphis Lee whose neighborhood is about to go through major economic development and gentrification. Having won a Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award, and Drama Desk Award, this acclaimed play is a piece of history that calls for exploration of the re-occurring themes of Wilson's work surrounding race, oppression, and identity in America.

"Two Trains Running was last performed on the Bagley stage in 1991 in the original production that went on to Broadway," said Artistic Director Braden Abraham. "I'm thrilled to partner with Arena Stage in revisiting this brilliant and timely play." Seattle Rep season ticket holders will have priority access to tickets for Two Trains Running beginning this spring, with single tickets going on sale later this fall.

Often called the "American Shakespeare," playwright August Wilson is recognized as one of the most influential American Playwrights. Wilson is perhaps best known for writing the Century Cycle, a collection of 10 plays chronicling the African American experience. His play Fences won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play, four Tony Awards, and the Pulitzer Prize for DramA. Wilson moved to Seattle in 1990 and formed a relationship with Seattle Repertory Theatre. He died on October 2, 2005.

Seattle Rep was founded in 1963 and is currently led by Artistic Director Braden Abraham and Managing Director Jeffrey Herrmann. One of America's premier not-for-profit resident theatres, Seattle Repertory Theatre has achieved international renown for its consistently high production and artistic standards, and was awarded the 1990 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre. With an emphasis on entertaining plays of true dramatic and literary worth, Seattle Rep produces a season of plays along with educational programs, new play workshops, and special presentations.

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