Presumably, many Pittsburghers have seen or read at least one of literary great August Wilson’s 10 award-winning plays. But if you don’t see Wilson’s “Two Trains Running,” now playing at Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre, you will miss the best play of the year. Seriously.
When walking into the theater, you feel that you are part of the set, a small 1960’s diner where the action, language, laughs, joys, pain, romance—all of it—takes place. In “Two Trains,” the set speaks a truth, and that truth is, in part, what has made the name and legacy of August Wilson what it is today: Black life can be a shared experience for those who are willing to partake. Mark Southers, director of “Two Trains” and artistic director of Pittsburgh Playwrights, had the vision to take Wilson’s baby, cradle it in his arms, look into its eyes, and say, “You’re mine, too.” Wilson would be proud.
The play stars a stellar cast: Tony-award nominated actor Anthony Chisholm (Memphis), Wali Jamal (Wolf), Lonzo Green (Hambone), Sharnece Thomas (Risa), Sala Udin (Holloway), Jonathan Berry (Sterling), and Eugene Lee (West). The chemistry among the cast is exemplary, as if they are each other’s air. While the cast, as a whole, shines to make this production memorable, dynamic and as close to perfect as a production can come, Chisholm is a marvel, and you will want to stand on your feet to give him his just due. Lee, quite simply, becomes “West,” and owns his moment on the stage, with Udin offering a performance that reveals Wilson’s greatness, and his. Jamal is consistent with the kind of acting that has earned him an Onyx award. Audiences will applaud Berry’s exuberance and will find familiar creativity in the skill of Green. And if you’re not ready for 17-year-old Thomas who makes her professional debut, get ready, because here she comes, with all her strut on her petite but capable shoulders.
“Two Trains Running” does not pulsate on one character alone, but tells a myriad of stories about a community, a time, a people and a place. It is a story of hope and despair, love and hate, disappointment and victory. In the play, “Memphis” is intent on getting what is due him from the city of Pittsburgh and to return to Georgia to avenge himself and his ancestors. “Sterling” yearns to make a mark in this world, but on his own terms, and desires beautiful, mysterious “Risa” to complete his dream of stability and love. “Hambone” wants what is rightly his, and Wilson himself sees that he gets it. And in “Two Trains,” though death is inevitable, life is the undisputed champion, and won’t go down without a fight.
If you have never seen a production of Wilson’s plays, don’t procrastinate any longer.
(See www.pghplaywrights.com or call 412-288-0358.)
