Playwright August Wilson’s work is able to withstand the test of time due to his authentic and charismatic storytelling that continues to resonate with audiences.
Alex Morris and Gerald C. Rivers
Photo by Craig Schwartz
‘Joe Turner’s Come and Gone‘ is an ode to determination, resilience and persistence as the ensemble cast exudes a powerful performance that follows multiple characters as they branch out into the “new world” after the end of slavery.
Set in a Pittsburgh boarding house in 1911 during the Great Migration, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone introduces us to a group of men and women teetering on the brink as they search for lost family, identity and purpose in the aftermath of slavery. Owners Seth Holly (Alex Morris) and his wife, Bertha (Veralyn Jones) play host to a makeshift family, as residents come and go during a time when descendants of former slaves were moving North in large numbers. When tormented Herald Loomis (Kai A. Ealy) arrives with his young daughter, Zonia (Jessica Williams), he is a free man after seven years’ hard labor on Joe Turner’s chain gang. Loomis is looking for the wife he left behind (Tori Danner), believing she can help him reclaim his identity. But through his encounters with the rootmaker, Bynum (Gerald C. Rivers), and the other residents (Brandon Gill, Briana James, Nija Okoro), he comes to realize that what he really needs is to “find his song” — and it will take more than the local people finder (Bert Emmett) to discover it. Also in the cast is Jared Bennett as the neighbor boy, Reuben.
Photo by Craig Schwartz
“Seth and Bertha’s boarding house is a way station where souls come on their way to find redemption,” explains Daniel. “Thousands of former slaves and their descendants moved from the South into the jungles of the northern cities after the end of the Civil War. They needed to find each other, to reconnect with their heritage, their ancestry and their culture.
The ensemble that made up the cast was beautifully woven together and brought Wilson’s characters to life and kept the audiences attention under the direction of Gregg T. Daniel who is a mainstay at A Noise Within.
Photo by Craig Schwartz
The creative team for Joe Turner’s Come and Gone includes scenic designer Tesshi Nakagawa; lighting designer Karyn D. Lawrence; sound designer Jeff Gardner; costume designer Kate Bergh; wig and makeup designer Shelia Dorn captured the essence of the time period showcasing both the modesty and simplicity of the 20th Century, particularly through the lens of African-American’s.
As in all of Wilson’s plays, a recurring motif in Joe Turner is the complex relationship between Christianity and African mysticism.
Photo by Craig Schwartz
“I would like [audiences] to leave the theater with the understanding that the Black characters they see in the play are African people,” Wilson once said in an interview. “And that as African people, they have a different cultural response to the world than do white people. In fact, that is the source of their strength. So, if white or Black audiences are seeing the play, if it dawns on them at some time during the play that these are African people, then they begin to see the commonalities of different cultures. And they understand, even though these are African people, they wrestle with the same questions that all of humanity wrestles with. Why God got to be so big?”
The mysticism of the “legend” of Joe Turner, who the audience doesn’t see, allowed you to visualize what he could look like and how his persona left a lasting impression on those who knew of him.
Wilson’s work remains timeless and is prominently showcased at A Noise Within who has a lofty goal of ensuring all of his work is presented on their stage.
Taken as a whole, the ten plays in Wilson’s monumental cycle span a period of 90 years, from Gem of the Ocean in 1904 to Radio Golf in 1997 — with nine of them set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, where Wilson himself grew up. But the plays were not written sequentially and are not connected in the manner of a serial story. Each play stands alone.
Anytime you have the opportunity to experience one of the many works of August Wilson we encourage you to do so. They will leave you wanting for more.
