Playwright August Wilson
Two chances to see August Wilson works this season, at two colleges.
Seminole State College, of course, has a tradition of presenting a play by August Wilson each year; this year’s offering is “The Piano Lesson.”
Wilson wrote a cycle of 10 plays detailing the African-American experience in this country; a play is set in each of the 20th century’s decades. The plays (except for one) take place in Pittsburgh and depict ordinary folks going about their lives.
Wilson won Pulitzer Prizes for two of the plays, “The Piano Lesson” and “Fences.” He died of liver cancer in 2005.
“The Piano Lesson” is set in the 1930s.
And there will be a chance to see the play that falls first chronologically in the cycle: Theatre UCF at the University of Central Florida will also present a Wilson play, “Gem of the Ocean,” set in the first decade of the 1900s.
Here’s more on the productions:
“Gem of the Ocean”: In the play, Aunt Ester guides a former slave and a young man in search of redemption into the 20th century. The drama will be staged Nov. 17-Dec. 4 at Theatre UCF, the University of Central Florida, off University Boulevard and Alafaya Trail in east Orange County. Call 407-823-1500 for more details.
“The Piano Lesson”: A brother and sister confront the legacy of slavery and the meaning of their own legacies. It will be staged Feb. 3-12 at Seminole State College Fine Arts Theatre, 100 Weldon Blvd., Sanford. Call 407-708-2040 for more details.