Davis, Dutton, Uggams, et al. to Honor August Wilson on October 23

Mary Alice, Anthony Chisholm, Viola Davis, Charles S. Dutton, and Leslie Uggams will be among the celebrities paying tribute to the late playwright August Wilson at 3pm on Sunday, October 23 at the recently renamed August Wilson Theater (245 West 52nd Street). The event is free and open to the public; it is being organized by Ricardo Khan, co-founder and artistic director of the Crossroads Theatre Company, and Woodie King Jr., producing director of the New Federal Theater.

Also scheduled to appear are Lou Bellamy, Ben Cameron, Walter Dallas, Dr. Howard Dodson, Zelda Fichandler, Ebony JoAnn, and Lloyd Richards. Says Khan, “It’s going to be a beautiful gathering with speakers from [Wilson’s] life and his plays, and representatives from a generation of young people who have inspired by him.”

Wilson, the Pultizer Prize-winning author of such works as Fences and Gem of the Ocean, died on October 2 of liver cancer. He was 60 years old. On Sunday, October 16, the Virginia Theater was officially renamed in the playwright’s honor; Dutton, Lillias White, and cast members from the Broadway production of Wilson’s Seven Guitars were among those who participated in that ceremony. The theater currently houses Jersey Boys.