The Plays of August Wilson - Jitney/Ma Rainey's Black Bottom/Fences/Joe Turner's Come and Gone/The Piano Lesson/Two Trains Running/Seven Guitars/King Hedley II/Gem of the Ocean/Radio Golf

[William]

I know this is kind of out of the context of the three Wilson plays that your group read is focusing on, but I decided to read through all of Wilson's Century Cycle plays in order which they represent the century. That means I've read "Gem of the Ocean" and "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" so far. Joe Turner was an excellent play, which I had not heard that much about before! Really looking forward to the rest of the plays in the cycle.

[Sam]

Final thoughts on Fences a day late. I think that Troy's actions (and specifically how they affect Rose) really shifts my engagement in this play from the family to the author as I find myself questioning his relationship to his father or father figures. Emotionally, I found it wotked better in the theater than in reading the play probably because one feels everyone else's emotional reaction in the theater and it is a shared moment that carries us past the shift in tone. While reading the play, I had to restrain myself from dropping the play and turning to Wilson's biography, burt my focus remained on Wilson wondering why he chose to take the play in the direction he did.

Next week, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, a first time read for some of us. I am looking forward to it.

[Terris]

I thought I was going to read it in December. But I just added it to a 2024 Challenge so will probably read it in January. I am looking forward to is as well!

[Sam]

William wrote: "I know this is kind of out of the context of the three Wilson plays that your group read is focusing on, but I decided to read through all of Wilson's Century Cycle plays in order which they repres..."

Please pardon me, Bill. I somehow missed your post on the 19th. Feel free to join in with any thoughts you have on the plays or on the cycle as a whole. We were deciding whether to read the plays in order of publication or from a chronological perspective and went with publication since it would give us a chance to see Wilson's development, but I am now seeing that this choice has at least for the present muted my willingness to comment in detail on the historical racial perspective Wilson is bringing to this. I figured we needed some plays from the earlier part of the century to provoke that part of the discussion. Please jump in with any of your thoughts on how your approach is going.

[Sam]

I read the first act of Joe Turner's Come and Gone am finding it another excellent play, but one with distinct differences from what we have read before. I won't speak to the differences now since I don't want to spoil things for anyone that hasn't read it but I am very much looking forward to the second act. Don't forget this one is a big step back in time, covering the second decade of the twentieth century.

[William]

Sam, Joe Turner was such an excellent play, one of my favorite things that I have read this year! I followed it up with "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" as I am reading through the century cycle in chronological order. Ma Rainey was so emotionally intense, I liked it a little less than Joe Turner but not much. So impressed by the quality of Wilson's plays and the themes he touches on. I'm on to The Piano Lesson next! Thanks for allowing me to chime in!

[Connie]

I finished Joe Turner's Come and Gone, and the African mysticism and spirituality, and the African drumming are some things new in this series. I imagine it would be very powerful when presented on the stage.

Some of the other plays also incorporated a search for identity, but it was probably an enormous problem during the Jim Crow years in history. We are again encountering migration to the North with the Black workers being underpaid.

[Connie]

William wrote: "Sam, Joe Turner was such an excellent play, one of my favorite things that I have read this year! I followed it up with "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" as I am reading through the century cycle in chron..."

I'm glad you are enjoying these wonderful plays, William. I read "The Piano Lesson" last year, and could empathize with both the brother and the sister.

[Terris]

Yes, I enjoyed "The Piano Lesson" also. It sticks out in my mind more than some of the others!

[Connie]

Some background information on "Joe Turner":

August Wilson said that he was inspired by Romare Bearden's collage "Mill Hand's Lunch Bucket."

https://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/a...

He also was inspired by the blues song, "Joe Turner's Come and Gone." Joe Turner was based on Joe Turney, a plantation owner who illegally enslaved Blacks in the early 20th Century. He was the brother of the governor of Tennessee, and rounded up Blacks for his chain gangs on minor charges like loitering or gambling. He lured Black men to crap games, then arrested them. Turner kept the men enslaved for seven year terms. A wife asking about her missing husband might be told, "Haven't you heard about Joe Turner? He's been here and gone." Black women originally sang the song about their missing men, and it was recorded by the blues singer, W C Handy. Various versions of the song are on youtube.

[Sam]

There is so much to talk about with this play! Tis a pity that December is such a busy month. I suggest we carry over the conversation into January and start The Piano Lesson
around midmonth to let Terris catch up.

Wilson makes a move from traditional theater to more abstract modern theater with this play and I think the style very much supports the themes of the period for this play. While the three previous plays definitely had the Zeitgest of the decades they represented, with this play, Wilson seemed more to be using his skills to define the decade more generally within the history of Black culture, IMO. I thought it worked very well. Connie pointed out how Wilson sourced Bearden's collage for inspiration. He had also used Bearden as inspiration for Fences but in this play, I think Wilson has structured the play with both scenes and ideas behind them to give us a similar effect as collage. The individual parts retain their significance but we gain additional meaning from the shared picture. That shared picture reflects the period's cultural metamorphosis as through migration north the the culture began to leave the culture imposed by slavery and and began to blend the cultural roots the people brought with them creating something new. I see the play as almost a cosmic metaphor where instead of seeing the origin of stars and galaxies as matter came together in the creation of of universe's bodies, we instead see the beginnings of the creation of present black culture through the melding of diverse cultural inheritances shown in the play. I thought it worked very well and wish I had beeen at an early performance of the play.

[Terris]

Thank you for carrying "Joe Turner" over into January! :)

[Sam]

If all agree, I will ask Sara to schedule the Piano Lesson for the 13th.

[Sam]

The discussion is open for The Piano Lesson. I am finding it quite different from Joe Turner. I hope we continue to post on Joe Turner since that play IMO, was a departure what we had read in style and technique and very much seemed part of a cycle as a whole. The Piano Lesson is a change back to the more traditional from reading the first act. Wilson seems a little more aggressive in criticism of institutional racism here but the societal elements are balanced off of a personal conflict between two relatives. There is a supernatural aspect. More when finished.

[William]

The Piano Lesson wasn't quite as emotionally intense for me as Ma Rainey, which isn't necessarily a negative comment. In Ma Rainey the men were quarreling about very personal issues that carried a lot of weight. Conflict seemed inevitable. With the supernatural overtones in the Piano Lesson, it takes great acting to pull that off, especially the end scene. Don't want to spoil anything, but could be very powerful to see in the theater if done right.

[Sam]

William wrote: "The Piano Lesson wasn't quite as emotionally intense for me as Ma Rainey, which isn't necessarily a negative comment. In Ma Rainey the men were quarreling about very personal issues that carried a ..."

Thanks for your thoughts William, I will finish this weekend. Looking forward to what Wilson does with this.

[Terris]

I just finished "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" and I enjoyed it. Wilson did such a good job of portraying each character. They all seemed to be searching for something or someone.
Bertha and Seth were hard workers and were taking care of everyone else, and all the boarders had their own trials and tribulations. Bynum seemed to be able to get into their heads. And Selig brought it all together by finding people, as in finding Martha for Herald.

It felt kind of sad, but they each seemed to keep plodding along and putting one foot in front of the other, pushing forward to live their lives. To me, they all felt strong but burdened.

I liked this one.

[William]

Of the four Wilson plays that I've read in his century cycle so far, I liked "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" the best. The characters and their struggles resonated the most with me. "Ma Rainey" and "The Piano Lesson" were also very good. I didn't quite connect with "gem of the Ocean" as much though. I'm starting "Seven Guitars" next and looking forward to it.

[Terris]

Yes, "The Piano Lesson" was also one that resonated with me.
The next one I need to read is Two Trains Running. Not sure when I'll get to it though.

[Sam]

Joe Turner's Come and Gone was as bright stimulating as the collage that Wilson sourced for it. The Piano Lesson was a step back IMO, and I will have to consider it as we continue in relation to the whole cycle. But as a play, it seemed long and I was bothered by the long speeches Wilson gave the characters. My expectation in plays is for long speeches to be used sparingly, and mostly in soliloquies, where characters' thoughts are revealed and care is taken by the author in making that speech special and imparting extra information to the audience. Here I felt, Wilson was just not putting an effort into the dialogue.

Then there is the supernatural. I would have to see a production of the play where this worked as the metaphor intended and not just as something to excite the audience. In reading the play, I found myself picturing the latter.

Last I did not get a unique sense of the decade represented.

I would like to move to Two Trains Running for next weekend, while still encouraging and allowing further comments from anyone on the earlier plays or the relationship of any of these plays to the whole of the cycle.

[Connie]

I can't remember the details of "The Piano Lesson" because I read it back in 2020. It was set during the Great Depression of the 1930s when money was scarce for everyone. Both the piano and the land have memories of their family's past. The piano has carvings of the slaves in their family, and the land is where the ancestors in their family were enslaved. The brother is hoping to make that land into something positive by buying and farming it. The sister is sentimental and doesn't want to part with a treasure that could never be replaced. It's a conflict that could tear the brother and sister apart. We can't say one person is right and the other person is wrong.

[Connie]

I just received a copy of Two Trains Running through interlibrary loan. I'm planning on starting it in about a week.

[Sam]

I have read the first half of this but am reserving remarks till I finish.
I am leaving a link for a study guide (pdf format) I thought was good. The link is to the wayback archive.


https://web.archive.org/web/201208231...

[Connie]

Thanks for the link to the study guide, Sam. I'll check it out when I start reading the play.

[Connie]

The link had some excellent background material. I had marked some of the same quotes while I was reading Two Trains Running. The late 1960s was a difficult time. Even though Civil Rights legislation had been passed, it did not lead to much advancement in the quality of life for black individuals. I was a little surprised that there was no mention about poor individuals, unable to afford college which gave a deferment, being drafted to serve in Vietnam.

The people coming into Memphis' restaurant are on the edge economically with little opportunity for employment, and many have been exploited by white society. Some turn to Prophet Samuel who is charismatic and may make them feel better psychologically, but he spends their offerings on expensive items for himself. Aunt Ester has been alive since the first Africans were brought to North America by slave traders, and people seek her advice. When they follow her advice to throw some money in the river so heaven will give them abundant returns, it may be that feeling confident and good about themselves brings good luck. Other people bet on the numbers hoping for a big payout from the crime family that runs the betting. It's doubtful that any of the three strategies will help, but maybe it's a psychological boost and a reason to hope.

They feel like they don't have the same access to the American Dream as white society. West's advice to Sterling about walking around with a small cup of dreams, instead of a ten-gallon bucket of expectations, says it all. A small amount of success will half fill a small cup, but won't be noticeable in a big bucket.

The older man, Holloway, was also frustrated by black poverty: "He give you three dollars a day for six months and he got him a railroad for the next hundred years. All you got is six month' worth of three dollars a day."

I found that there was more repetition in this play, especially about Hambone wanting the ham for payment. While I enjoyed some of Wilson's other plays more, there is a lot to think about in this play--urban renewal, making changes, unemployment, injustice, lack of opportunity, death, and black leadership.

[Cynda]

Hi. I am just now starting this play today. Is it okay to start here as the first August Wilson play read? I am familiar with the civil rights movement, so probably?

[Connie]

Cynda is healing 2024 wrote: "Hi. I am just now starting this play today. Is it okay to start here as the first August Wilson play read? I am familiar with the civil rights movement, so probably?"

Cynda, you can read the plays in any order. Some people read them in the order of the decades. Sam is reading them in the order that they were written. I read a few of his most popular plays a few years ago, and am reading the rest of them now. "Two Trains Running" is his 1960s play in the Century Cycle.

[Terris]

I have read them in all different order, and it has not made a difference since they are not ongoing stories or characters. Just interesting that they are set in ten different decades of the 20th century :)

[Sam]

I agree with both of the above comments. Starting here will not hinder your understanding. Wilson does repeat themes and uses some character types that are reincarnated as different characters but retain similarities to earlier characters but it doesn't matter to the order in which you read the plays.

[William]

Just finished reading "Seven Guitars" set in 1948. Not one of the more well known plays in the Cycle, but very well done. There are a few characters in this play that will reappear later in the Cycle, in King Headley II, set in the 1980's. I'm halfway through reading the ten plays. I'm going in chronological order of the plays. Some of the best reading I've done in the last few years!!

[Sam]

I apologize to everyone for not putting up my thoughts on Two Trains yet. I have been trying to organize my thoughts into saying what I wanted to say and yet I can't seem to get there. I agree with what Connie had to say about the play. but I think I liked the play a little more, and yet the play seemed to run against what I had expected from the Century cycle where I expected the focus on grander themes more related to events of the decade. This play seemed more psychologically focused on the internal issues and relations of the characters, their individual struggles and triumphs and and the timelier themes like urban renewal and black protests while present seem distanced. As a play I liked it, but as a representation of the sixties, I felt it wanting. I think I will leave judgement till we have read more of the cycle.

Now to completely contradict myself, although I didn't feel the play defined the sixties, universally, I cannot imagine the play outside of the Sixties. What is happening is onstage is entwined with my memories of the period. It feels like the play is commenting on that period without defining it. This applies to speech and actions beyond specific cultural references.

It also applies to the characters. As a whole the characters that inhabit this play are some of the most interesting, most quotable, most intriguing, and most moving we have seen yet. I think I could spend pages elaborating on any of them but my attention was specifically drawn to Sterling and Risa and their unique relationship and fascinating coping philosophies.

The play is also rich in symbolism, with a bit too much for me to note, but well worth noting and following if one wishes to enrich their reading experience.


Next up will be Seven Guitars and I think I will ask Sara to add the title for next weekend, so those who have read Two Trains can start a new play.

[Terris]

William wrote: "Just finished reading "Seven Guitars" set in 1948. Not one of the more well known plays in the Cycle, but very well done. There are a few characters in this play that will reappear later in the Cyc..."

Yes, Sam and William, I have noticed that Wilson tends to revisit certain themes and character types. Also, some characters do slide over into different plays. I just noticed that the "Aunt Ester" they are talking about in "Two Trains" is also in "Gem of the Ocean!" I had to look that up to figure it out! But I remembered that there was a female character who "washed souls" in a previous play.
I am also feeling like "Two Trains" is reminding me of "Jitney," where people are calling in to get a ride or "place bets on numbers" just like in "Two Trains." I hadn't noticed that much cross-over before, but I like it!

I'm enjoying "Two Trains" so far :)

[William]

I'm due to read "Fences" next. I wonder if it's impact will be diminished a bit, since I've already seen the movie Denzel Washington was in. Really enjoyed that movie though!

[Cynda]

Thank you Connie. One more question which anyone may answer: Are we discussing any and all plays here? Or.do they have separate threads?

[Sam]

Cynda is healing 2024 wrote: "Thank you Connie. One more question which anyone may answer: Are we discussing any and all plays here? Or.do they have separate threads?"

We have been discussing the all here, to the point where we read in chronological order. But we are to the point, where referring to other plays on theme or character hsrdly seems a spoiler.

[Sam]

William wrote: "I'm due to read "Fences" next. I wonder if it's impact will be diminished a bit, since I've already seen the movie Denzel Washington was in. Really enjoyed that movie though!"

I will be interested in your thoughts on Fences. As discussed earlier, my impression of Fences was with James Earl Jones in the role who made the play less humorous and created more anxiety in the other characters.

[Cynda]

Thank you Sam.

[Cynda]

The descriptions are just so right in The Piano Lesson.

(view spoiler)[ * The old truck isn't very useful in town.
* Young adults are lonely away from home.
* Young adults excited by new work & romance.
* Old dream of owning a farm still fills imaginations.
* New dream of becoming preachers and teachers fill imaginations--just until new professional opportunities arise.
* Higher education becomes a reality. Maretha will go to normal school/teacher's school, and preachers soon will be going to divinity school. Avery's children who want to be preachers will get a formal education.
* The sad thing: Maretha is being told not to act her color.
* The funny thing: Black folk don't understand white folk anymore that white folk do black. (hide spoiler)]

So watching play online.

[Connie]

Raymond Maxwell has a good article about how Wilson's last four plays resemble Greek tragedies, including Seven Guitars. He notices a Greek chorus in Act 1, Scene 1. The play's beginning and ending are essentially the same tragic moment.

He also notices how much illiteracy plays a part in many of Wilson's characters lives, including Floyd in "Seven Guitars." If they can't read, they can't read contracts or be able to work many jobs in the city.

I read the part of the article about "Seven Guitars," but it also has short sections at the end about the next three plays. Hedley in this play is the father of King Hedley in the later play.

Raymond Maxwell has been teaching older adults in a lifelong learning program about all the plays in Wilson's Century Cycle.

https://raymondmaxwell.substack.com/p...

[Terris]

I just finished "Two Trains Running!" I really enjoyed this one. It is one of my favorites so far in Wilson's "Century Cycle!"

I am looking forward to continuing by reading King Hedley II and Radio Golf to finish up the "cycle." :)

[Sam]

Connie wrote: "Raymond Maxwell has a good article about how Wilson's last four plays resemble Greek tragedies, including Seven Guitars. He notices a Greek chorus in Act 1, Scene 1. The play's beginn..."

Yes, I have been reading Maxwell's comments through my reading of the cycle. I will read and comment on Seven Guitars this weekend.

[Sam]

Terris wrote: "I just finished "Two Trains Running!" I really enjoyed this one. It is one of my favorites so far in Wilson's "Century Cycle!"

I am looking forward to continuing by reading [book:King Hedley II|88..."

I agree Terris. This was one of my favorite plays as an indvidual play. I wish I had seen it performed. I am trying to relate these plays to each other now that we are closer to the end of our journey through the cycle, but with each new play I find myself wanting to read the next one before adding too many comments. I am enjoying this read so much as we go along. I do not travel anymore so I doubt I will get a chance to see the whole cycle performed at a theater festival, but I think that would be a great theatergoing experience.

[Terris]

Sam wrote: "Terris wrote: "I just finished "Two Trains Running!" I really enjoyed this one. It is one of my favorites so far in Wilson's "Century Cycle!"

I am looking forward to continuing by reading [book:Ki..."

Yes, that would definitely be a great theatergoing experience, Sam! Sadly, only in our dreams ;)
But I'm sure enjoying reading the plays with the group. I read the first few by myself. I like knowing that others are reading along and letting each other know what we think. I've learned a lot from the comments!

[Connie]

I'm rereading "Seven Guitars" now. I'm glad you set up this group read, Sam, since many of the themes are repeating, but in different ways.

It's heartbreaking to see some of the problems going back to slavery like the illiteracy, poverty, and the psychological impact in some of the characters in the play cycle. If the parents are illiterate, they are not going to be able to help their children. If the parents are impoverished, they have no income to help set up their children in business or to educate them. It takes many generations to "catch up" in an economic sense, and there's a long ways to go. The early part of the Century Cycle was not many years away from Emancipation in 1863. The Jim Crow laws were on the books in some places even in the 1960s. So some of the choices that the characters make in their lives are due to poverty, illiteracy, and psychological distress, and are very different than a middle-class reader might make.

[Sam]

I finished Seven Guitars and want to give my first impressions without any time processing. First, like has been stated about the last few plays, what Wilson skips about this decade stands out and the obvious biggie is WWII. Since this is the third play with such omissions, I think it is time to start considering that Wilson is either omitting certain topics on purpose or more than likely choosing to prioritize topics that fit his vision of the social problems faced by Black Americans through the 20th century, which would be different than what we might think.

If we approach this play from that perspective I think the play works very well. It is also almost like a summary of themes we have touched on through the earlier plays in the cycle. I feel the play is a little less engaged on the personal level, instead feeling like an ensemble acting piece like Jitney and Joe Turner's Come and Gone.
I also feel Wilson is turning up dial on certain tensions, raising them to the degree of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. One aspect is the Black on Black male competitive violence. The difference in this play and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is the the violence in Ma Rainey seemed to occur suddenly, emotionally, and the mood cooled off as quickly, much like a roadhouse fight. In this play the violence is building toward a climax that is unavoidable and feels less resolved at the end. I am not explaining my thoughts too well and if any have any thoughts on this feel free to add them. I think the relationship between male and female also has that tightening of tension in this play. While in the last play there seemed a difference in characters that were "players" and those that were more responsible, here the line was less drawn and there seemed a more definite line between males and females.
The most interesting character for me was Hedley, and I won't add more since I expect to see more in reference to his character type through the next plays we are to read.
The return to music was particularly enjoyable for me and I am including this link to a Seven Guitars playlist by Robert Maxwell, whose name has been mentioned in multiple posts.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...

There are playlists to the other plays as well which you can access from Robert Maxwell's youtube channel.

[Sam]

Connie wrote: "I'm rereading "Seven Guitars" now. I'm glad you set up this group read, Sam, since many of the themes are repeating, but in different ways.

It's heartbreaking to see some of the problems going ba..."

I kind of ran out of writing steam but I want to further exploit Connie's thought in the future as related through these plays. For example, during my teens in the 1960's Black males would be stigmatized for high unemployment. There were multiple negative reasons put forth on why there was so much unemployment among young Black males and one negative put forth would be that the young Black male did not want to work, or another might be that the young Black male was undependable. I could go on and on. In my earlier years such stereotypical condemnations were the rule not the exception and today despite our opportunities for education on such topics we still see the negative stereotypes and find educated people accepting such stereotypes without question or correction. As Connie says, those born into cycles of poverty, fear for personal safety, inadequate or unrealized education, threat of substance abuse etc. also have a harder time adapting beyond such hardships than can be easily imagined unless experienced.

I have been looking at how Wilson has been demonstrating this theme in his plays and how he seems to respond to the problem as an author. My personal feeling is that though he is sensitive to the problem, he is actually fairly hard on the characters caught up in these cycles that keep them down. Wilson seems to hold his characters responsible for their actions despite their circumstances in many cases. I don't want to venture more thoughts till I have read more of the cycle, but do any of you see that as well?

[Connie]

Good thoughts, Sam.

My impression is that the majority of Wilson's female characters are strong women, but his male characters are a mix of strong men and men that ruin every chance that comes their way. Writers often bring lots of their own experiences into their writing, and Wilson had a strong mother who sacrificed a lot to make ends meet.

Even though Wilson had a childhood of poverty, he became a success through hard work, mentoring, and self-education. It certainly helped that he was brilliant and loved to read! His childhood might have left him with an understanding of the situation of poverty and discrimination, but also wanting to create some characters who make bad decisions. Some of the bad decisions involve how they treat the women who love them. Alcohol also fuels some of their bad decisions. Many of the men seem to really need a mentor, especially as they migrate into new cities and don't know who they can trust.

[William]

Great comments by Sam and Connie!! I agree that Wilson is purposely leaving out some obvious events from a specific decade to show the African American experience more singularly. These plays have a high level of the personal experiences to them. I liked the comparisons that Sam made between Ma Rainey and Seven Guitars because they did have many things in common.

Reading these plays is a very powerful experience for me, but seeing them on the stage would take it to a higher level, I think.

[Connie]

William, I liked your last sentence about seeing the plays on stage. I would especially like to see the plays that incorporate music and musicians into the action.

Sam, I'll have to check out that playlist link.

[Connie]

I was thinking about Sam's post about male competitive violence. In "Seven Guitars," the rooster's call throughout the play is suggestive of the violence that will come later. Roosters are very competitive males. Hedley kills it in the middle of the play in anger, just as he kills a man later.