August Wilson's Two Trains Running

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

August Wilson's Two Trains Running

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1w, 6m

August Wilson

This Pulitzer Prize finalist, set in a Pittsburgh coffee shop, is the 1960s chapter of August Wilson’s American Century Cycle, a decade-by-decade saga of African American life in the 20th century.

Image: 2022 Court Theatre Production (Michael Brosilow)

August Wilson's Two Trains Running

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 6m
  • Duration
    Duration
    More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Period
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult
Accolades
Accolades

  • Finalist! 1992 Pulitzer Prize in Drama
    Nominee: Four 1992 Tony Awards, including Best Play
    August Wilson is the recipient of the 1986 Whiting Award for Drama.

Details

Summary
Memphis Lee’s coffee shop lies in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, a neighborhood on the brink of economic development. The restaurant serves as a hangout for a host of regulars: a local intellectual, an elderly man who imparts the secrets of life as learned from a 322-year-old sage, an ex-con, a numbers runner, a laconic waitress who slashed her legs to keep men away, and a developmentally disabled man who was once cheated out of a ham. With Chekhovian obliqueness, the author reveals simple truths, hopes and dreams, creating a microcosm of an era and a community on the brink of change.
History
Two Trains Running premiered on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre on April 13, 1992. Directed by Lloyd Richards, the production featured Roscoe Lee Browne, Anthony Chisholm, Lawrence Fishburne, Cynthia Martells, Chuck Patterson, Sullivan Walker and Al White.
Cast Attributes
Keywords
Performing Groups
HAMBONE
STERLING
MEMPHIS
HOLLOWAY
WOLF
RISA
WEST
  • Time Period 1960s
  • Setting Memphis Lee’s restaurant in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, 1969.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration More than 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“Wilson's most delicate and mature work.” – Time

“Wilson has written roles for actors to love, complete with riffs and full blown emotional arias.” – New York Newsday

“The most comic of the Wilson cycle so far.” – The Christian Science Monitor

“Wilson's most adventurous and honest attempt to reveal the intimate heart of history.” – The New York Times

ON BREAKING CHARACTER

How Does Theatre Centered on the Black Experience Hold Up with Predominantly White Audiences?
Reginald L. Douglas
February 21, 2019

Photos

  • August Wilson's Two Trains Running

    Image: 2022 Court Theatre Production (Michael Brosilow)

  • August Wilson's Two Trains Running

    Image: 2022 Court Theatre Production (Michael Brosilow)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $130 per performance

Scripts

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Authors

August Wilson

August Wilson

August Wilson (April 27, 1945 - October 2, 2005) authored Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II and Radio Golf. These works explore the heritage and experienc ...

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