“August Wilson: The Ground on Which I Stand” Available Online and in DVD Format

By Mike Downing

The PBS documentary on August Wilson, “The Ground on Which I Stand,” is now available online and in DVD format.

Online via WHYY

DVD via Amazon

“How I Learned What I Learned,” Pittsburgh Public Theatre, March 27 2015

By Mike Downing

I was able to see “How I Learned What I Learned” in Pittsburgh last Friday. It was awesome. Actor Eugene Lee did a terrific job of portraying August Wilson in this one-man, one-hour-and-forty-minute show. Wilson’s friend and protégé, Todd Kreidler, directed. I thought it was fantastic and would like to see it again.

For more information on Eugene Lee, click on his photo (above). It will take you to his website.

Photo by Jasmine Lucas

For a detailed article about the play, published by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette–which includes a video interview with Mr. Lee and Mr. Kriedler–click on the second image.

August Wilson’s “Two Trains Running” Triumphs at Goodman Theatre (Chicago)

From Barbara Vitello:

“Funny, warmhearted and superbly acted, ‘Two Trains Running’ is the centerpiece of a citywide celebration of the late playwright curated by the Goodman — the only theater that has produced all 10 plays in Wilson’s 20th Century Cycle chronicling the African-American experience in each decade of the last century.”

For the complete article, click the image.

August Wilson’s “How I Learned What I Learned” performed for first time ever in Pittsburgh

From Genea L. Webb:

“Written a few years before his passing, “How I learned What I Learned” gives audiences a glimpse into [August Wilson’s] poverty-filled life in the Hill District as a young poet. All the stories are set in Pittsburgh in 1965. It was the brain-child of Wilson and his former assistant, Todd Kreidler. It was the final play that Wilson penned before his death in 2005. Ironically, Wilson performed the show solo in 2003 in Seattle where he lived at the time.”

For the complete article, click the image.

Goodman Theatre Production of “Two Trains Running” Set to Begin (Chicago)

By Mike Downing

“Two Trains Running” by August Wilson begins March 8 at the Goodman Theatre’s Albert Theatre in Chicago.

For tickets, click here.

To read the announcement from TheaterMania, click here.

D.C. Cannot Shy Away from Teaching Boys about August Wilson and Anger

From The Washington Post: “As an American black man, I get so frustrated dealing inside a white world where nothing I say can convey how complicated life really is, how just being black adds so much to everyday complexities,” said Timothy Douglas, a Wilson protege who is directing Hedley. “Wilson gives voice to that with his exceedingly insightful language.”

For the entire article, written by Courtland Milloy, click on the image.