Jitney (play)
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''Jitney'' is a play by American playwright
August Wilson August Wilson (né 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 10 plays, collectively called '' ...
. The eighth in his " Pittsburgh Cycle", this play is set in a worn-down
illegal taxi operation Illegal taxicabs, sometimes known as pirate taxis, gypsy cabs, or jitney cabs, are taxis and other vehicles for hire that operate illegally because they do not have proper licenses, permits, registrations, and accreditations, safety inspections, ve ...
station in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...
, in early autumn 1977. The play premiered in a
Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...
in 2017.


Productions

''Jitney'' was written in 1979 and first produced in 1982 at the small Allegheny Repertory Theatre, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When Wilson took his mother to see that production they arrived by jitney. That was followed by a separate production at Penumbra Theatre in
St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (often abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 311,527, making it Minnesota's second-most populous city a ...
. After Wilson had a series of plays produced on Broadway, Eddie Gilbert, artistic director of the Pittsburgh Public Theater, read the 1979 script and asked to produce it. In response, Wilson returned to Pittsburgh in 1996 re-writing it extensively for what is referred to as its professional premiere, which was 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, Direc ...
. This was the first Pittsburgh Cycle premiere not to be directed by
Lloyd Richards Lloyd George Richards (June 29, 1919 – June 29, 2006) was a Canadian-American theatre director, and actor. While head of the National Playwrights Conference, he helped cultivate many of the most famous theater writers of the 20th century. He ...
. Over the next four years there were up to 20 productions nationwide, many with the same core cast as in Pittsburgh, including the 1997 production at the
Crossroads Theatre Crossroads Theatre is an American residence theater company in New Brunswick, New Jersey, focused on the Black American experience and the African diaspora. It is in residence at the newly built New Brunswick Performing Arts Center, which opened i ...
in New Jersey, which was directed by Walter Dallas, and the 1998 production at Boston's
Huntington Theatre Company The Huntington Theatre Company is a professional theatre located in Boston, Massachusetts and the recipient of the 2013 Regional Theatre Tony Award, under the direction of Managing Director Michael Maso. It is notable for its longstanding artist ...
, directed by McClinton. Wilson continued working on the script. ''Jitney'' opened
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 tha ...
at the
Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a non-profit theater company that presents work by living American writers both on and off Broadway. It is based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and is affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1979 ...
on April 25, 2000, and closed on September 10, because another play was coming in. The play next moved to the Union Square Theatre on September 19, 2000, where it closed on January 28, 2001. ''Jitney'' ran successfully Off-Broadway, and was the only one of the 10 Pittsburgh Cycle plays not to appear promptly on Broadway, possibly because Wilson's previous play had lost money, making investors cautious. Directed by Marion McClinton, the cast featured four actors who had been with it almost continuously since 1996: Anthony Chisholm (Fielding), Paul Butler (Becker), Willis Burks (Shealy) and
Stephen McKinley Henderson Stephen McKinley Henderson is an American actor. 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 prominence as a character actor often perfo ...
(Turnbo). ''Jitney'' went on to London, and ran at the National Theatre's
Lyttelton Theatre The National Theatre (NT), officially the Royal National Theatre and sometimes referred to in international contexts as the National Theatre of Great Britain, is a performing arts venue and associated theatre company located in London, England, ...
from October 16, 2001, through November 21, 2001. It won the
Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...
for best play of the year. Directed by McClinton, it featured much of the New York cast. McClinton's production moved to
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's
Curran Theatre The Curran Theatre, located at 445 Geary Street between Taylor and Mason Streets in the Theatre District of San Francisco, California opened in February 1922, and was named after its first owner, Homer Curran. As of 2014, the theater is owned b ...
in early 2002. The play has been performed often in regional theater, including at the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C., in 2001, the
Denver Center for the Performing Arts The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) is an organization in Denver, Colorado which provides a showcase for live theatre, a nurturing ground for new plays, a preferred stop on the Broadway touring circuit, acting classes for the communi ...
in 2002,
Ford's Theatre Ford's Theatre is a theater located in Washington, D.C., which opened in 1863. The theater is best known for being the site of the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. On the night of April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth entered the theater box where ...
, Washington, D.C., in 2007, and the
Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...
, Washington, D.C., in 2008. The
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 Stre ...
premiere of ''Jitney'' began previews at the
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, formerly the Biltmore Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 261 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp i ...
on December 28, 2016, and opened on January 19, 2017. The play closed on March 12, 2017. The play, produced by the
Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Lynne Meadow has been the company’s Artistic Director and visionary since 1972. Barry Grove joined the company in 19 ...
, was directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, with a cast featuring
John Douglas Thompson John Douglas Thompson (born 1964) is an English-American actor. He is a Tony Award nominee and the recipient of two Drama Desk Awards, three Obie Awards, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and a Lucille Lortel Award. ''The New York Times'' critic B ...
(Becker), Brandon J. Dirden (Booster),
André Holland André Holland (born December 28, 1979) is an American actor. He is widely known for his 2016 performance as Kevin in the Academy Award-winning film ''Moonlight''. Holland has acted in film, television, and theatre productions. He starred as D ...
(Youngblood),
Carra Patterson Carra Patterson is an American actress. Life and career Patterson was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Florida. Her mother was 16 when she was born. She graduated from the New York University Tisch School of the Arts and later began appearin ...
(Rena), Michael Potts (Turnbo), Anthony Chisholm (Fielding),
Keith Randolph Smith Keith Randolph Smith is an American Broadway, television, theater, and film actor. Smith appeared in the films ''Malcolm X'' and ''Girl 6'', both films directed by Spike Lee, and played Will in ''Fallout'' and Jesse Hill in ''Backstreet Justi ...
(Doub), Harvy Blanks (Shealy) and Ray Anthony Thomas (Philmore).


Characters

* Jim Becker, the well-respected manager of the jitney station. In his 60s. * Doub, a driver, cautious and slow going, a Korean War veteran * Fielding, a driver, an alcoholic, formerly a tailor who clothed
Billy Eckstine William Clarence Eckstine (July 8, 1914 – March 8, 1993) was an American jazz and pop singer and a bandleader during the swing and bebop eras. He was noted for his rich, almost operatic bass-baritone voice. In 2019, Eckstine was posthumously a ...
and
Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...
. * Turnbo, a driver, notorious for being a gossip * Youngblood (Darnell Williams), a driver. Recently returned from Vietnam, working several jobs to provide for his family. In his late 20s. * Rena, Youngblood's girlfriend and the mother of his young son, Jesse. * Shealy, a flamboyant bookie who uses the jitney station as the basis of his operations. * Philmore, a local hotel doorman and a frequent jitney passenger. * Booster (Clarence Becker), Becker's son, who has just completed a 20-year prison sentence for murder. In his late 30s.


Synopsis

Regular taxi cabs will not travel to the Pittsburgh Hill District of the 1970s, and so the residents turn to jitneys—unofficial, unlicensed taxi cabs—that operate in the community. This play portrays the lives of the jitney drivers at the station owned by Jim Becker. We are rapidly introduced to the drivers at the station: solid, easy-going Korean War veteran Doub, gossipy hothead Turnbo, alcoholic Fielding, and Darnell (called Youngblood by the other drivers), an army veteran recently returned from Vietnam who is attempting to build a new life for his family. Flamboyant numbers runner Shealy is not a driver, but uses the station's phone as his base of operations. Conflict arises when Turnbo insinuates himself into Youngblood's love life, telling Youngblood's girlfriend Rena that he has been seen around town with her sister when he should have been at home with their young son. Despite his protestations of innocence, she accuses Youngblood, who has been acting secretively and has taken money needed for groceries to pay a vague "debt", of cheating on her, which he has done in the past. Youngblood attacks Turnbo for causing trouble and Turnbo pulls a gun on him, threatening to shoot him, but station boss Becker intervenes and defuses the situation. Becker's son, Clarence (nicknamed Booster) is released early from prison after serving 20 years for the murder of his college girlfriend, a white woman who had falsely accused him of rape. Becker has not visited him in prison once during that span, furious that he made sacrifices to provide for Booster's future only for him to throw it away on needless revenge. Booster comes to the station anxious to reconcile with his father, but Becker refuses to listen to him, furiously blaming him for his mother's death; she died of grief after Booster was sentenced to death. Angry recriminations are thrown on either side and Becker disowns his son. When Booster returns later to apologize, Becker pointedly ignores him. News arrives that the building housing the station is to be condemned and torn down by the city. The drivers contemplate renting new space elsewhere, or disbanding the jitney company, but later that evening Becker encourages them to resolve to fight the eviction. Youngblood admits to Rena that his secretive behavior has been because he has been saving up to buy a house as a surprise for her; her sister was helping him look at houses. Rena admonishes him for buying a house without consulting her, but acknowledges his intentions, and they reconcile. Tragedy strikes unexpectedly when Becker, who has taken a second job at the steel mill where he used to work before retiring, is killed in an industrial accident. Booster breaks down in agony on hearing his father is dead, but at the end of the play appears ready to take his place as the head of the jitney station.Wilson, August. ''Jitney''. Samuel French, Inc. (January 11, 2011). .


Awards and nominations

;Awards * 2001:
Lucille Lortel Award The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres ...
, Outstanding Scenic Design, David Gallo * 2000:
Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...
**Outstanding Scenic Design of a Play, David Gallo **Special Award, Outstanding Ensemble Performance * 1999–2000:
OBIE Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given since 1956 by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theater artists and groups involved in off-Broadway and off-off-Broadway productions in New York City. Starting just after th ...
** Performance, Ensemble **Direction, Marion McClinton * 2000–2001:
Outer Critics Circle The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town news ...
Award, Outstanding Off-Broadway Play * 2000: Drama Critics' Circle Award, Best Play, August Wilson * 2000: Henry Hewes Design Award, Scenic Design, David Gallo * 2002:
Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...
for Best New Play


2017 Broadway Revival


References


Further reading

* *


External links

*
Internet Broadway Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jitney (Play) 1982 plays African-American plays All-Black cast Broadway shows Laurence Olivier Award–winning plays Off-Broadway plays Plays set in the 1970s The Pittsburgh Cycle Plays set in Pittsburgh West End plays