August Wilson House, 1727 Bedford Avenue
May 11 – June 3
7 p.m.
Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company is taking the drama off the stage and into the community.
Fans of American playwright and Pittsburgh native August Wilson can not only see his work produced live, but can do so at his historic childhood home in the Hill District.
Just shy of what would have been Wilson’s 73rd birthday, Pittsburgh Playwrights is presenting “King Hedley II,” the ninth in the playwright’s renowned 10-part “Pittsburgh Cycle” which chronicles the black experience in America.
The work — which premiered at Pittsburgh Public Theater in 1999 — depicts the story of an ex-con working to rebuild his life after returning home from prison. Peddling stolen refrigerators, King Hedley tries to earn enough to start a family and open a video store.
Set in Pittsburgh during the 1980s-era Reagan administration, the drama also explores themes of retribution, identity, survival, and urban African American life.
Directed by Mark Clayton Southers, Monteze Freeland and Dennis Robinson Jr., the play stars Sala Udin, Wali Jamal, Etta Cox, Rico Parker, Sam Lothard, Karla Payne and Dominique Briggs.
