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August Wilson

AUGUST WILSON

  (1945 - 2005)
Nationality:    African American
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Office: c/o John Breglio, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019.

photograph (©1989 Susan Johann) by kind permission of Susan Johann - http://www.susanjohann.com

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below is a list of August Wilson's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Black Bart and the Sacred Hills         Fences         Gem Of the Ocean         How I Learned What I Learned         Janitor, The         Jitney         Joe Turner's Come and Gone         King Hedley II         Ma Rainey's Black Bottom         Mill Hand's Lunch Bucket, The         Piano Lesson, The         Radio Golf         Seven Guitars         Two Trains Running

Black Bart and the Sacred Hills

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
St. Paul    1981

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Fences

Fences
About a former star of the Negro baseball league who is now a garbageman, and how his bitterness touches all that he loves.

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
New American Library, New York, 1986   978-0452264014

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Gem Of the Ocean

Gem Of the Ocean
When Citizen Barlow, in spiritual turmoil, seeks a new life at the bustling home of 285-year old Aunt Ester, he sets off on a magical journey across history and time to the City of Bones, where he discovers the true meaning of freedom

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/7623/gem-of-the-ocean   978-0573704772

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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How I Learned What I Learned

Synopsis:
In this solo show, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson shares stories about his first few jobs, a stint in jail, an early relationship, his first kiss, his foray into cinema, and the friends he has had his entire life. Directed by long-time collaborator Todd Kreidler and featuring Ruben Santiago-Hudson, director of the acclaimed The Piano Lesson, How I Learned What I Learned charts one mans journey of self-discovery through adversity, and what it means to be a black artist in America.

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Janitor, The

Synopsis:
A man addresses a conference and tells the delegates how beautiful life can be. the conference organiser walks on stage and orders the janitor back to work

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Short play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  1 either sex

Further Reference:
-

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Jitney

Synopsis:
Set in 1970 in the Hill District of Pittsburgh that is served by a makeshift taxi company, Jitney is a beautiful addition to the author's decade by decade cycle of plays about the black American experience in the twentieth century. "Explosive. . . Crackles with theatrical energy." N.Y. Daily News. "Could be described as just a lot of men sitting around talking. But the talk has such varied range and musicality, and it is rendered with such stylish detail, that a complete urban symphony emerges. . .. Drivers return from jobs with stories that summon an entire ethos. . .. Throughly engrossing, Jitney holds us in charmed captivity." N.Y. Times. "Comic, soulful and immensely moving." Time Out. "A transport of delight! So vividly written . . . it keeps you steadily amused, concerned and moved." N.Y. Magazine. Winner of the New York Drama Critics Award for Best New Play and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off Broadway Play

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Allegheny Repertory Theatre, Pittsburgh    1982

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Samuel French, NY,    -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
2 act Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Joe Turner's Come and Gone

Joe Turner's Come and Gone
Follows the lives of spirited boarders in a lodging house, set in 1911.

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1988   978-0573691423

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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King Hedley II

Synopsis:
the story of a man's salvation and a family's--and a people's--quest for redemption. King Hedley II takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1985, in the Hill District, an African-American ghetto neighborhood. the action occurs in the alley behind the rundown homes of King Hedley and his neighbor Stool Pigeon. On this tiny plot of ground, King is planting a small garden when we first meet him: out of jail following a long incarceration for murder, King is now determined to make things grow in his life. More tangible plans involve--in collaboration with his buddy Mister--a scheme to sell a batch of almost-certainly-stolen refrigerators and, possibly, a jewelry store robbery. King also is ripe to have a child with his wife Tonya; and he's eager to clear his mother Ruby out of his house (she's waiting for an opening in a senior citizens' building). Such are the homely, more or less ordinary circumstances of King Hedley's life.
nytheatre.com

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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

Synopsis:
"So what would you do if a 5ft, 15st blues empress burst into the room and declared that she wants to show you her black bottom? the only correct response is to say yes ma'am, and brace yourself. the Black Bottom is the name of a 1920s dance craze. Rainey is surprisingly far from the centre of her own play. In fact, much of the first half is spent waiting for her to turn up. In the meantime, her long-suffering band members engage in the time-honoured musician's ritual of hanging about, smoking reefer and chewing the fat. Foremost amongst these is Levee, an agitated young trumpet player determined to be an artist rather than a pawn in the white recording industry. the play only becomes truly compelling in the second half, when Rainey lets rip behind the microphone and Levee finally breaks. "the white folk only hear the blues come out," declares Rainey. "they don't know how it got there." Wilson's play takes a while to work up to this point, but it all becomes worth it when the fat lady sings. ", Guardian

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
New American Library, New York, 1985   -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama. - - Gay/Lesbian, historical characters

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Mill Hand's Lunch Bucket, The

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
New York    1983

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Piano Lesson, The

Piano Lesson, The
In Pittsburghs Hill District in 1936, the Charles family battle their surroundings and each other over their shared legacy - an antique piano. the fourth play of August Wilsons epic Century Cycle, the Piano Lesson is a stunning and moving Drama of family, history, and survival.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
New Haven, Connecticut    1986

Organisations:
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1st Published:
New American Library, New York, 1990   978-0452265349

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Radio Golf

Synopsis:
Radio Golf is the 10th and final play in the cycle about 20th century African American life created by the late August Wilson. It takes place in Pittsburgh in 1997, as Harmond Wilks, a charming and powerful African American politician, is running for the highest office of his career, with the loving support of his savvy wife, Mame. As Harmond steps into political prominence, the past is just a few steps behind him. . .and gaining fast.
nytheatre.com

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Cort Theatre, NY    2007

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Nick Hern books, London, 2008   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Seven Guitars

Synopsis:
Floyd 'schoolboy' Barton, an aspiring blues musician, returns home to seek his fortune and reclaim his woman; a sick old man longs for an heir to carry on his name; and three single women cope with betrayal and lost dreams. Like seven musical instruments, each one strikes a singular note in a discordant world.
Press Release

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1996   -

Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Tragi comedy Tragedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Two Trains Running

Synopsis:
the uncertain future promised by the Civil Rights movement of the 60's

Notes:
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1st Produced:
New Haven, Connecticut    1990

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, NY,    -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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