"August Wilson's 20th Century" at Kennedy Center

2nd NE Quadrant\The Approval Matrix: Week of March 3, 2008


By Broadway World

February 6, 2008

The most awarded African-American playwright in history, August Wilson's crowning achievement was his ten-play cycle, "August Wilson's 20th Century" in which each work is set in a different decade in the 1900's. The cycle, often titled the Pittsburgh Cycle because nine of the ten plays are set in Pittsburgh, chronicles the African-American experience in the 20th century. "August Wilson's 20th Century" will be presented in a series of staged readings at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St. NW Washington, DC 20566).

The Plays and Dates:
1900s: Gem of the Ocean (March 4-8)
1910s: Joe Turner's Come and Gone (March 6-8)
1920s: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (March 9-11)
1930s: The Piano Lesson (March 12-15)
1940s: Seven Guitars (March 14-16)
1950s: Fences (March 16-19)
1960s: Two Trains Running (March 20-25)
1970s: Jitney (March 22-26)
1980s: King Hedley II (March 23-27)
1990s: Radio Golf (March 28-29)