SATURDAY
Hail August Wilson’s ‘Jitney’
In the age of Uber, it might be hard to imagine taxi drivers ruling the roost, but that’s how the employees at Becker’s cab station in “Jitney” conduct themselves: like kings.
One of the many joys of August Wilson’s plays is the way they ennoble characters society typically overlooks. But in directing the show for African-American Shakespeare Company, L. Peter Callender notes that “Jitney” is “not an epic play,” but more human in scale. That’s in contrast to many of the other works in Wilson’s 10play Century Cycle, one for each decade of the 20th century, with most of the plays, including “Jitney,” set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. This ensemble-driven show is set in 1977, when regular taxis wouldn’t go to the predominantly black neighborhood. Wilson’s characters might work in the shadow of the law, but his poetic writing recasts them firmly in the spotlight.