Coming to a (live) theater near you…
At BEA this past week, I made the acquaintance of the Theater Communications Group, the publisher of American Theatre Magazine and a beautiful 10 volume set of August Wilson’s Century Cycle. August Wilson, wrote ten plays, each focusing on the African-American experience of a different decade of the 20th century, and won enough Pulitzers, Tonys, and Drama Desk awards to make him one of the most celebrated dramatists in recent times. He died in 2005 from lung cancer.
My college roommate Justin introduced me to Mr. Wilson’s work in college. Year later when I began attending theatre in earnest, I decided to make a life mission out of seeing all ten of his plays. When Fences, his 1950s play, went up at the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre in downtown San Francisco a few months ago, my quest had begun. I figured at that rate, I’d complete the cycle right around my 45th birthday.
Until now. This past weekend, I found out that Theatre Communications Group has an online database of what’s going up at practically every theatre in America. A search on "August WIlson" yields 33 results, with 7 of the 10 plays going up somewhere in America this fall.
If I were crazy, I could buy a pile of cheap plane tickets and spend 6 months wolfing down the August Wilson decalogue. Or I could be practical and see whatever comes through town (Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, the 1910s play, goes up at Berkeley Rep in December) whenever they get here. But really, when has I erred on the side of practical?
What a great service this is for steaming piles of nerddom like myself.
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2 Replies to “Coming to a (live) theater near you…”
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You shouldn’t have to rack up the miles or wait a decade. Wilson’s work is performed, and will continue to be performed, all over the place.
Sooner or later, a company will stage the whole cycle. Possibly Seattle Rep, Chicago’s Goodman Theater, Pittsburgh Public, or some NY troupe. The Kennedy Center presented them as a staged reading series in March & April.
Joe Turner’s an excellent show, worth the trip to Berkeley.
You shouldn’t have to rack up the miles or wait a decade. Wilson’s work is performed, and will continue to be performed, all over the place.
Sooner or later, a company will stage the whole cycle. Possibly Seattle Rep, Chicago’s Goodman Theater, Pittsburgh Public, or some NY troupe. The Kennedy Center presented them as a staged reading series in March & April.
Joe Turner’s an excellent show, worth the trip to Berkeley.