Review: August Wilson Cycle Continues to Shine at JBT
by Warren Francke of The Reader
The magic of August Wilson’s writing as performed in the John Beasley Theater finds me struggling to convey the power of Jitney, the 1970s part of his 10-play cycle on the African-American experience.
It’s tempting to just exclaim, “WOW!!!” That avoids dissecting the wonderfully unified whole and resists itemizing its many attributes.
Instead, visit the jitney station, where the phone rings and the waiting drivers answer, “Cab service.” Real lives are lived there in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, and a huge measure of Wilson’s magic in the talented hands of director John Beasley and a highly professional cast is how familiar his world seems to those of us who didn’t grow up black but shared the more universal search to make our way.
Last year, on seeing the same company’s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, I asked myself why each and every Wilson character seemed so appealing, regardless of faults or virtues. The Beasleys do it again in Jitney and the question returns.
I have no profound answer, but promise his plays are a blessing to the actors and their audiences. They bring a mix of humor and humanity in the midst of life’s challenges that makes me want to bring every word home to revisit later.
So I’ll stop rambling and share what I can: That jitney station is full of life. Stirring the pot is Turnbo (James L. Wright), who sticks his nose in everybody’s business, especially poking into the life of Youngblood (Andre McGraw), whose activities also worry his woman (Autumn Lewis).
Even the alcoholic Fielding (Anthony Chisholm), though often made indifferent by drink, tells Turnbo to shut up, but the clearheaded Doub (Eugene Lee) is more likely to rebuke the loudmouth. All take turns when a cab is called and all live by Becker’s law.
Becker, played by John Beasley, runs the station with five rules chalked on a blackboard. No. 1 is “No Overcharging,” a rule Fielding breaks when he needs four bucks for booze but the caller needs only a $3 ride.
The cabbies don’t dress as well as a man named Shealy (Carl Brooks), who hangs around the station to take calls from clients who play the numbers. He’s always flush with their bets, but rarely in good favor with Becker.
A lot is happening in their lives: an urban renewal project will soon tear down their building, and Becker’s son Booster (Tyrone Beasley) is returning after 20 years in prison, leaving him estranged from his father. In one of the more powerful duets you’ll ever see on stage, sweat and tears pour from Becker, who declares, “I ain’t got a son I can be proud of,” while Booster insists that in the case of his crime, “Two wrongs make a right.”
But this reviewer lacks Wilson’s powers, so I revert to promising that he delivers far more than I can reflect in a few hundred words. At the center of it all is the formidable prowess of John Beasley whose Becker rules the station, breaking up fights, even when a gun is pulled, or sending a couple home when he finds them embracing on his couch.
That’s the same couch where Fielding finds a half-empty flask. Where Turnbo’s hides his Playboy magazine when Youngblood’s woman visits. Where the men gather once more when death comes to the jitney station.
Then the phone rings again, and they wait and the audience waits to see who will answer the call. The great August Wilson then answers one final question to complete the drama.
The only disappointment was that every seat wasn’t full on a Sunday afternoon. Blame the Olympics or Valentine’s Day. More likely, the word hadn’t yet spread from larger crowds Friday and Saturday. This was theater at its very best: richly entertaining and ennobling in its insight. You won’t find anything better on Broadway.
Jitney runs Feb. 12-March 7, Thurs.-Sat. 7:30 p.m., Sun. 3 p.m., at the John Beasley Theater in the LaFern Williams Center, 3010 Q St. Tickets are $27, $22 for students and seniors. Call 502.5767 or visit johnbeasleytheater.org.
17 Feb 2010