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August Wilson at the Goodman: A Production Timeline
With the production of Radio Golf, the Goodman will become the only theater in the country to have produced all 10 of the plays in August Wilson's cycle chronicling the African American experience through the 20th century. The Goodman's relationship with Wilson began in January, 1986, with the production of Fences starring James Earl Jones. Over the course of the past 20 years, the Goodman served as part of the consortium of theaters that helped develop the plays before they headed to Broadway, twice hosting world premiere productions.
Wilson's influence on the Goodman has been profound. From the theater's founding in 1925 to the time it presented Fences in 1986, the Goodman had produced just seven plays by black authors on its main stage. With the arrival of Wilson, a gate unlocked and, since the time of Fences, the Goodman has presented 24 plays by African American writers. Since Fences in 1986, August Wilson has been easily the most produced playwright at the Goodman.
The following chronology of August Wilson's cycle of plays includes information about their productions at the Goodman.
1900s: Gem of the Ocean
We meet Aunt Ester, who conducts young Citizen Barlow on a spirit voyage to the City of Bones. Caesar lords over Pittsburgh's Hill District as sheriff. Solly Two Kings gets his revenge.
Written: 2003. Goodman production (world premiere): 2003. Directed by Marion McClinton; featured Kenny Leon (Radio Golf director) as Citizen Barlow.
1910s: Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Herald Loomis has come north looking for his lost wife. Selig, the people finder, and Bynum, the root man, aid him in his search. Herald finds his song.
Written: 1984. Goodman production: 1991. Directed by Jonathan Wilson; starred Johnny Lee Davenport as Loomis.
1920s: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
The Mother of the Blues toughs it out to get her songs recorded her way. Set in Chicago, Ma Rainey is the only play in the cycle that takes place outside Pittsburgh.
Written: 1982. Goodman production: 1997. Directed by Chuck Smith; featured Harry Lennix as Levee and Felicia P. Fields as Ma Rainey.
1930s: The Piano Lesson
Boy Willie fights with his sister Berniece over the family heirloom piano. Shall they sell it to get ahead in this world, or preserve it with all the history it represents?
Written: 1986. Goodman production: 1989. Directed by Lloyd Richards; featuring Charles Dutton and S. Epatha Merkerson Boy Willie and Berniece.
1940s: Seven Guitars
Let out of prison, Floyd Barton plans on recording another hit in Chicago - but he gets hit first. A Wilson whodunit.
Written: 1995. Goodman production (world premiere): 1995. Directed by Walter Dallas; the first world premiere of a Wilson play at the Goodman.
1950s: Fences
Negro League slugger Troy Maxson works as a garbage man, struggles with his son and presents his wife with a baby by another woman.
Written: 1985. Goodman production: 1986. Directed by Lloyd Richards; featuring James Earl Jones in a towering performance. The first Wilson play at the Goodman.
1960s: Two Trains Running
Demolition in the name of renewal threatens a Hill District restaurant. Aunt Ester is introduced as an offstage presence. Hambone wants his ham.
Written: 1990. Goodman production: 1993. Directed by Lloyd Richards; featured Roscoe Lee Browne as Holloway and Eriq LaSalle as Sterling.
1970s: Jitney
In the world of Pittsburgh's gypsy cab drivers, the release of a man from prison leads to a tense father-son reunion. Wilson wrote the earliest version of this play in the 1970s.
Written: 1982. Goodman production: 1999. Directed by Marion McClinton; featuring veteran Wilson interpreters Paul Butler and Anthony Chisholm.
1980s: King Hedley II
A world of back alley crime and drive-by shootings forms the backdrop of Wilson's purest tragedy.
Written: 2001. Goodman production: 2000. Directed by Marion McClinton; featuring Leslie Uggams as Ruby. This play was the first produced in the new Goodman Theatre at 170 North Dearborn.
1990s: Radio Golf
Harmond Wilks, grandson of Gem of the Ocean's Caesar, is a real estate developer running for mayor of Pittsburgh. But an old house - Aunt Ester's old house - and its history get in his way.
Written: 2005. Goodman production: 2006. Directed by Kenny Leon; with this play the Goodman will have produced all 10 plays in Wilson's cycle.