Large expanses of Pittsburgh’s ethnic neighborhoods—German, Italian and African-American—were wiped out by the massive urban renewal projects of the 1970s, rendering the setting for the eighth in August Wilson’s epic play-cycle already softened by nostalgia. We are in the dispatch room of Becker’s Jitney Cab company, supplier of hired transportation to the shabby Hill District, where imminent displacement is not the only threat troubling the drivers. Many are retirees with pensions, but at least one, Darnell ‘Youngblood’ Williams, a Vietnam veteran, is saving toward the purchase of a house in the suburbs for the mother of his child. Also looking to start over is Becker’s son, Clarence, recently released from prison after having served a 20-year sentence for a murder committed in a moment of youthful passion.
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Playwright: August Wilson. At: Pegasus Players in the O’Rourke Center at Truman College, 1145 W. Wilson. Phone: 773-878-9761;$15-$25. Runs through: Oct. 28
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But though these complications are what propels the plot, it is the conflicting cosmological views of the older and younger men—with Darnell’s girl friend contributing an opinion or two—that endows this portrait of an American subculture with the dignity of classical drama. The auxiliary characters—avuncular Doub, mercurial Shealy, phlegmatic Fielding, truculent Turnbo, meek Philmore—are not mere foils, but spokesmen for the choices proffered those of their social station, the degree of satisfaction (or lack thereof) each takes in the course of his life lurking just beneath their camaraderie.
Such a richly-textured panorama would stagger many productions under its sheer literary weight. But director Jonathan Wilson possesses not only an eye for intricate stage pictures, but an ear for complex vocal harmonies and, more important, a storyteller’s regard for narrative cognizance. Under his guidance, a seasoned ensemble of players reject the temptation for solipsistic grandstanding, instead concentrating on illumination of their text, their phrasing and enunciation of its polyphonic dialogue exceeding the standards of more prestigious equity companies while never sacrificing a second of kinetic velocity. Indeed, so comfortable are the players within their dramatic universe that when an opening-night accident disabled an onstage doorway, the obstacle was incorporated into the subsequent action as if rehearsed for weeks.
Audiences are advised to follow Pegasus Players’ example in scheduling this play for the fall, rather than waiting for February. One will certainly not find a more superbly-crafted evening of theatre this season than at the O’Rourke Center in Uptown.