''Seven Guitars'' is a 1995 play by American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

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 ...

. It focuses on seven African-American characters in the year 1948. The play begins and ends after the funeral of one of the main characters, showing events leading to the funeral in flashbacks. ''Seven Guitars'' represents the 1940s entry in Wilson's ''Pittsburgh Cycle'', a decade-by-decade anthology of African-American life 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 ...

during the twentieth century; Wilson would revisit the stories of some of these characters in ''

King Hedley II ''King Hedley II'' is a play by American playwright August Wilson, 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 th ...

'', set in the 1980s.

Plot synopsis

Just released from his house in the street, Blues singer Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton is asked to sign a record deal after a song he recorded months before becomes an unexpected hit. After a year of trials and tribulations, Floyd is ready to right the past year's wrongs and return to Chicago with a new understanding of what's important in his life. Unfortunately his means of righting wrongs are inherently flawed. The play's recurring theme is the African-American male's fight for his own humanity, self-understanding and self-acceptance in the face of personal and societal ills. The rooster is a recurring symbol of black manhood throughout the play, and provides a violent and shocking foreshadowing effect when Hedley delivers a fiery monologue and ritualistically slaughters one in front of the other characters.

Awards and nominations

;Awards * 1996

New York Drama Critics' Circle The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 22 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jone ...

Award for Best Play ;Nominations * 1995 Pulitzer Prize for Drama * 1996 Drama Desk Award for Best Play * 1996 Tony Award for Best Play

References

External links

* {{Pittsburgh Cycle 1995 plays All-Black cast Broadway shows Broadway plays New York Drama Critics' Circle Award winners The Pittsburgh Cycle Plays set in the 1940s African-American plays Tony Award-winning plays