By John-John Williams IV
Originally published in The Baltimore Banner on Friday, March 29, 2024
The works of Tony Award- and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson are soon coming to a Baltimore theater near you.
April will kick off a three-year effort during which 10 of the late scribe’s plays, each of which takes place in a different decade of the 20th century, will be presented in chronological order at 10 Baltimore theaters. The endeavor is believed to be the first time that “August Wilson’s American Century Cycle,” as the collective works are known, will be presented this way.
“The August Wilson American Century Cycle is one of the greatest triumphs of the stage, an endeavor that has indelibly brought the Black American experience to life in all its richness and power,” said Lesley Malin, producing executive director of Chesapeake Shakespeare Co., in a press release. “I am thrilled that the Baltimore August Wilson Celebration can bring the Baltimore Theatre community together in a unique shared effort and introduce these essential works to a new generation of Baltimore theatre-goers. I hope Baltimore will be the first of many American cities to honor Wilson’s legacy in this way.”
The project kicks off with a run from April 5 through April 28 at Arena Players Inc. with the 1900s-set “Gem of the Ocean,” which debuted on Broadway in 2004. “Joe Turner’s Come And Gone,” which takes place in the 1910s and originally premiered in 1986, will run Sept. 20 through Oct. 13 at Chesapeake Shakespeare Co. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” which tackles the 1920s and premiered in 1984, will be performed in March 2025 at ArtsCentric.
Stevie Walker-Webb, artistic director at Baltimore Center Stage, said his theater has a “long, beautiful” history with the work of Wilson, a Pittsburgh native who died in 2005.
“If we see the American Theatre as a body, then August Wilson is surely its heartbeat,” Walker-Webb said in a release. “Taking part in this momentous celebration of his work with our sibling theaters, in a city that at times feels so much like the one in his plays, means so much to us here at Baltimore Center Stage.”
Constanza Romero, a Tony-nominated costume designer and Wilson’s wife, said she is “pleased and thrilled” about the yearslong venture in Baltimore.
“I humbly consider my beloved late husband one of the most important American playwrights of the 20th century. In recognition of August’s contribution, it is fitting to have various talents across all disciplines come together to put their experience and craft forward for this city-wide collaboration,” she said in a press release. “I will be in full support of this endeavor and most grateful to all its participants.”