Friday, February 20, 2004

By Christopher Rawson, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It's too late for a review, and anyway, it was for only one night and a student matinee. But Tuesday's "August in February: Vignettes by August Wilson" at the Byham was an important occasion that demands recognition in Pittsburgh's paper of record.

It made me proud of Pittsburgh, not just to know this powerful playwright grew into his career here, but to see his work celebrated so effectively by an ad hoc ensemble of local black actors. It was a showcase not just of Wilson but also of local talent that is sometimes overlooked.

Directed by Mark Southers of the Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, the 100-minute show presented eight scenes and a coda taken from seven Wilson plays. We saw Levee tell the harrowing story of his mother's rape, Fielding reminisce about Billy Eckstine, Vera reject Floyd's sweet talk, Sterling sweet-talk Risa, Berniece defend her piano, Rose condemn Troy's infidelity, Zonia and Reuben experience a first kiss and Ma Rainey finally sing her song.

Putting these snippets in close juxtaposition leads to interesting comparative thoughts about the similarities and differences among the angry young protagonists (Levee, Sterling, Floyd) and the pragmatic women both young (Risa, Vera) and not so young (Rose, Ma). Only Wilson's great griot characters (Bynum, Holloway, Toledo, Hedley) were under-represented.

Some scenes were better than others, but of course these were just vignettes from an epic cycle with material to sustain many such evenings. Let us hope "August in February" becomes an annual celebration, always showcasing local actors but perhaps also attracting back some of the fine black actors who have left Pittsburgh for the national scene, such as Monte Russell, Leland Gantt or Billy Porter. Southers has started something with a limitless future. Kudos also to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Multicultural Arts Initiative for making it possible.

If it does become a Pittsburgh tradition, the record should include the leading actors who brought each of Wilson's scenes to life:

"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom": Jay Jones (Levee), Charles Timbers (Cutler), Kevin Brown (Slow Drag), Wali Jamal (Toledo).

"Jitney": Lonzo Green (Fielding), Leo Beatty (Booster).

"Seven Guitars": Monique Pappas (Vera), Jay Jones (Floyd).

"Two Trains Running": Kahlil Lee (Sterling), Shaun McCarty (Risa), Jonas Chaney (Memphis), Mark Smith (Holloway), Kevin Brown (Wolf).

"The Piano Lesson": Vanessa German (Berniece), Wali Jamal (Boy Willie), Kevin Brown (Doaker), Maurice Brown (Lymon).

"Fences": Rita Gregory (Rose), Jonas Chaney (Troy), Kevin Brown (Gabriel).

"Joe Turner's Come and Gone": Asti Leonard (Zonia), Carter Redwood (Reuben).

"Ma Rainey" again: Sandra Dowe (Ma), Nathan James (Sylvester).

The program made a great follow-up to the previous evening's Shakespearean showcase right around the corner at the Public Theater -- the Man of the Millennium one night and the great dramatic chronicler of 20th-century black America the next.

There were about 500 in the house Tuesday and it was full the next day. I hope Ted Pappas was there; I hope Tracy Brigden was there; I hope it comes back even stronger next year.

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