Introduction
August Wilson was an American playwright born in the year 1945 and died in 2005. August was famous for his major works of the ten different plays that got him awards of two Pulitzer prizes for drama (Shannon, 2016). The ten pieces of work also known as the Pittsburgh Cycle entailed different settings regarding their decades and they represented the comic and tragic experiences of Africa and America during the 20th century. His work majorly acted as a reflection of his family and his early childhood development whereby he faced discrimination due to racism. Also, August is referred to as one of the significant writers during the 20th century. Fences brought great popularity as one of the series among the ten pieces written by August hence the awards obtained. This paper entailed detailed and researched information concerning the ten pieces constructed by August Wilson in the American Theatres. The ten sets include: Fences (1984), Jitney (1979), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1982), Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (1984), The Piano Lesson (1986), Two Trains Running (1990) ,Seven Guitars (1995), King Hedley 11 (1991),Gem of the Ocean (2003) and the Radio Golf (2005) (Berkowitz,2014).
Fences in 1984
Fences entail Troy as the principal character in the play. Troy is the son of a poor sharecropper hence the miserable condition he faces at home which makes him leaves to the North to build his life. In the North, Troy steals and is imprisoned . He learns to play baseball in prison and later on joins the Negro Leagues. The play also depicts that Troy in his fifties worked as a sanitation worker and built fences for his family and friends. Lastly troy even made his brother Gabe to get committed to a mental hospital that later on forgave him and danced during his funeral so that Troy could go to heaven (Gale, 2015). The first development of the play took place in Eugene O’Neill Theatres Center and got advanced at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1985. The piece majorly explores the African-American experience and the race relations during the 20th century.
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Gem of the Ocean
The play majors on a young African –American man whose crime entails significant consequences on the other man. Feeling guilty, the man travels in search of spiritual healing from woman knowns Aunt Ester. Ester gets perceived in the play as the woman with 285 years with special healing powers. The act got developed in 2003 at Godman Theatre.
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone
The play entails Joe Turner which refers to the name of a plantation owner who forced the Africa-Americans to work on his fields. Seth and Bertha also apply to former slaves who work together to accommodate the other slaves abused by the white people. The play got developed in 1984 at Yale Repertory Theatre.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
The play entails four African-Americans waiting for their band leader and in the process decides to exchange jokes and their experience during the 20th century. The entire game involves the combination of the bitterness, laughter and the blues experienced by the blacks during the late 1920s. The act got developed in 1984 at Yale Repertory Theater in America.
The Piano Lesson
The piece entails a piano that is handed down from a generation to generation ends up causing conflicts in the family of Charles. The story shows the importance of objects in past relationships. The play got developed in 1987 at Yale Repertory Theatre.
Seven Guitars
The play got set in Pittsburgh in 1948 whereby the Blues singer Floyd receives freed from prison ends up signing his music contract. The contract ends up making his music a hit of that time. He later struggles to find his way to Chicago. Black manhood refers to the central theme in his songs.
Two Running Trains
The play got set in Pittsburgh in 1969. It entails a restaurant built in Pittsburgh Hill’s District which faces economic decline. Memphis refers to the owner of the restaurant who is worried about the building if the city comes to claim it (La Donna, 2016). A young activities in the play organizes rallies to save the restaurant, but Memphis is not in support of the activists.
Jitney
The story got set in private taxi station threatened with demolition in 1977. Jitney explores the lives and the social interactions of drivers identifying the legal issues.
King Hedley 11
The play talks about the prideful and arrogant King Hedley 11‘s downfall who also happens to belong to the family of one of the seven guitar’s characters. The piece got developed in 1999 at Pittsburgh Public Theatre.
Radio Golf
The play talks about a successful politician and a real estate developer who dares to tear the historic building that happens to belong to Aunt Ester, the spiritual healer. The showcasing took place in 2005 at Yale Repertory Theatre.
References
Berkowitz, G. M. (2014). American drama of the twentieth century . Routledge.
Gale, C. L. (2015). A Study Guide for August Wilson's Fences . Gale, Cengage Learning.
La Donna, L. F. (2016). August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle: Critical Perspectives on the Plays ed. by Sandra G. Shannon. Theatre Topics , 26 (2), 267-268.
Shannon, S. G. (Ed.). (2016). August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle: Critical Perspectives on the Plays . McFarland.
