Theater News

Signature Theatre Revives and Modifies Plans for August Wilson Series

August Wilson(Photo © Joseph Marzullo)
August Wilson
(Photo © Joseph Marzullo)

New York’s Signature Theatre Company announced today that, following discussions with the August Wilson Estate, it has revived and modified its plans to honor the late playwright in 2006 as part of the company’s 15th anniversary line-up. Three plays from Wilson’s 10-play “Pittsburgh Cycle” — Seven Guitars, Two Trains Running and King Hedley II — will be presented beginning in Fall 2006. Specific dates and further information will be announced in the coming weeks.

Earlier this year, Signature had announced that it would devote its 2006-2007 season to Wilson. The programming was to have included a solo show written and performed by the playwright, staged readings of all 10 plays from the Pittsburgh Cycle, and a new work by Wilson. Then, earlier this summer, Wilson was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. A month after his death on October 2, the company was told by the Wilson Estate not to proceed with its plans, since the Estate was still deciding who would have the rights to produce the plays.

In response to the resolution of the situation, James Houghton, founding artistic director of the company, stated: “We are extremely grateful to August’s wife, Constanza Romero, for initiating the further discussions that led to this very happy outcome. We look forward to working with her as we continue to schedule the season and do all that we can to honor this great American playwright.” Romero stated, “I thank Jim Houghton and everyone at Signature for allowing us the time we needed to have some clarity about the immediate future of August’s legacy. I’m very pleased that the company will be able to proceed with its very gracious tribute, and was happy to work with Jim in choosing the plays for the season.”

All three of the plays in question were produced on Broadway within the past 15 years, and each received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play. In Seven Guitars, set in Pittsburgh’s Hill district in 1948, an aspiring blues musician called “Schoolboy” Barton 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. In Two Trains Running, set in Pittsburgh in 1969, the regulars at a popular local diner grind out an existence against the backdrop of a turbulent world and a rapidly changing city. King Hedley II, set in a backyard in the decaying Hill district of Pittsburgh during the 1980s, follows the characters created by Wilson in Seven Guitars.

Signature has partnered with Time Warner, Inc. in offering every ticket for every show in its 15th anniversary season at a price of $15. That offer began this month with the company’s production of The Trip to Bountiful and will also apply to the Wilson plays.