Jitney

Jitney is the first play August Wilson wrote in his renowned "Pittsburgh Cycle" which chronicles life in his childhood neighborhood, decade by decade, over the course of the 20th century.

Of the ten plays in the "Cycle," Jitney is the seventh in the series and is the winner of the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award and the Olivier Award for Best New Play.

It is 1977 in Pittsburgh’s Hill District – a neighborhood that legitimate cabs will not travel to. Out of these circumstances, unlicensed, gypsy cabs – jitneys – emerge to drive the locals around town. The story unfolds in Becker’s storefront jitney station where a motley crew share stories and meddle in each other’s lives. But urban renewal now threatens to tear down the station and Becker’s son returns home after a 20-year stint in prison. Old cronies drop in, fights break out and lovers make up – and just as we get to know them, Wilson asks us to look again.