''King Hedley II'' is a play by American playwright

August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...

, the ninth in his ten-part series, '' The Pittsburgh Cycle''. The play ran on Broadway in 2001 and was revived Off-Broadway in 2007.

Productions

''King Hedley II'' premiered at the Pittsburgh Public Theater in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, on December 11, 1999, and played a number of other regional theaters, including Seattle, Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington before its Broadway engagement. The play opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the Virginia Theatre on May 1, 2001 and closed on July 1, 2001, after 72 performances and 24 previews. Directed by

Marion McClinton Marion Isaac McClinton (July 26, 1954 – November 28, 2019) was an American theatre director, playwright, and actor. He was nominated for the Tony Award for ''King Hedley II''. He won the 2000 Vivian Robinson Audelco Black Theatre Awards, Dire ...

, the cast featured

Brian Stokes Mitchell Brian Stokes Mitchell (born October 31, 1957) is an American actor and singer. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theater since the 1990s. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2000 f ...

(King), Leslie Uggams (Ruby), Charles Brown (Elmore),

Viola Davis Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...

(Tonya),

Stephen McKinley Henderson Stephen McKinley Henderson (born August 31, 1949) is an American actor and director. Henderson trained at Juilliard School for acting and later became a resident member of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis from 1976 to 1981. He came to promin ...

(Stool Pigeon), and Monté Russell (Mister). The play ran

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

at the Peter Norton Space, New York City, in a

Signature Theatre Company Signature Theatre Company is an American theatre based in Manhattan, New York. It was founded in 1991 by James Houghton and is now led by Artistic Director Paige Evans. Signature is known for their season-long focus on one artist's work. It has be ...

production, from March 11, 2007, through April 22, 2007, in a season that featured Wilson's work.

Plot synopsis

''King Hedley II'' is the ninth play in August Wilson’s ten-play cycle that, decade by decade, examines African American life in the United States during the twentieth century. Set in

in 1985, it tells the story of an ex-con in Pittsburgh trying to rebuild his life. The play has been described as one of Wilson's darkest, telling the tale of a man trying to save $10,000 by selling stolen refrigerators so that he can buy a video store, as well as revisiting stories of other characters initially presented in '' Seven Guitars''. Hedley’s wish, now that he has returned to Pittsburgh from prison, is to support himself by selling refrigerators and to start a family. Set during the

Reagan Administration Ronald Reagan's tenure as the 40th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1981, and ended on January 20, 1989. Reagan, a Republican from California, took office following a landslide victory over ...

, the play comments critically on the

supply-side economics Supply-side economics is a Macroeconomics, macroeconomic theory that postulates economic growth can be most effectively fostered by Tax cuts, lowering taxes, Deregulation, decreasing regulation, and allowing free trade. According to supply-sid ...

theories of the day, examining whether their stated aim of providing trickle-down benefits to all Americans truly improved the lot of urban African Americans. ;Characters * King Hedley II * Tonya, King Hedley II's wife * Ruby, King Hedley II's mother * Elmore, a southern hustler (and former boyfriend of Ruby) * Mister, friend * Stool Pigeon, a wise man and a prophet

Notes on characters

''King Hedley II'' draws "on characters established in ''Seven Guitars'', ''King Hedley II'' shows the shadows of the past reaching into the present." Some of the characters presented earlier include King Hedley II, "the spiritual son of King Hedley from ''Seven Guitars'' and Stool Pigeon, a "sixty-five year old harmonica player...now a newspaper-collecting history carrier". The character of Ruby was a "vivacious young newcomer to Pittsburgh" in ''Seven Guitars'' but in ''King Hedley II'' is "...overcome with worry and regret...". Mister is Red Carter's son.Maley, Patrick
"'King Hedley II' is a dark play handled with care in Red Bank: review"
nj.com, November 26, 2018

Awards and nominations

;2001 Broadway * Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2000 finalist) *

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

for Best Play (nomination) *Tony Award, Best Actor in a Play (Brian Stokes Mitchell) (nomination) *Tony Award, Best Actress in a Play (Leslie Uggams) (nomination) *Tony Award, Best Featured Actor in a Play (Charles Brown)(nomination) *Tony Award, Best Featured Actress in a Play, (Viola Davis) (WINNER) *Tony Award, Best Direction of a Play (Marion McClinton) (nomination) *

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. F ...

for Best Play (nomination) *Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play (Mitchell) (nomination) *Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Brown) (nomination) * Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (Davis) (WINNER) *Drama Desk Award Outstanding Set Design of a Play ( David Gallo) (nomination) ;2007 Off-Broadway * Audelco Award Dramatic Production of the Year (nomination) * Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Revival (nomination)

Notes

References

External links

* *
Review, 2001
{{Pittsburgh Cycle Please help me find the visual of this play. 1999 plays All-Black cast Broadway shows Off-Broadway plays Laurence Olivier Award-winning plays West End plays The Pittsburgh Cycle Plays set in the 1980s African-American plays