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12 Jun 21 - 11:07 PM (#4109947) Subject: August Wilson - African-Amer Life-Music From: Thomas Stern I am embarrassed to admit coming to the Plays of AUGUST WILSON thirty odd years late. With the attention garnered by the NETFLIX production by DENZEL WASHINGTON of Wilson's play MA RAINEY's BLACK BOTTOM I have had the opportunity to focus on his work. Three of the plays have been made into TV or Movie productions and are available on DVD: The Piano Lesson (Hallmark) Fences (Paramount) Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (Netflix - not available commercially on DVD, but "screeners" can be found.) There is also an LP & CD release of the 80's Broadway Cast production of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Watching beginning of The Piano Lesson, I had the feeling of listening to the ALAN LOMAX prison farm-chain gang recordings! I've don a little digging and find a number of interviews of Wilson (Bill Moyers and Charlie Rose) in which the importance of Black music in African American life is stressed, and reflected in the ten plays comprising the "Pittsburgh Cycle" - representing African American life in each of the 10 decades of the 20th Century. The Moyers interview is an interesting contrast to the attitudes expressed by Zora Neale Hurston in her biography DUST TRACKS ON A ROAD in chapter MY PEOPLE, MY PEOPLE. The 10 plays are Gem of the Ocean (2003) – 1900s Joe Turner’s Come and Gone (1988) – 1910s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1984) – 1920s The Piano Lesson (1990) – 1930s Seven Guitars (1995) – 1940s Fences (1987) – 1950s Two Trains Running (1991) – 1960s Jitney (1982) – 1970s King Hedley II (1999) – 1980s Radio Golf (2005) – 1990s Interviews online: A WORLD OF IDEAS Playwright August Wilson on Blackness and the Blues October 20, 1988 https://billmoyers.com/content/august-wilson/ https://charlierose.com/videos/19855 Wednesday 04/08/1992 Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson discusses his 1992 work "Two Trains Running," his "Pittsburgh Cycle" series of plays, and the black experience in the United States. https://charlierose.com/videos/12057 Monday 03/25/1996 Playwright August Wilson presents his latest play, "Seven Guitars," the seventh installment in Wilson's project to chronicle the black experience, decade by decade in the 20th century. https://charlierose.com/videos/165 Wednesday 02/25/1998 A conversation about race in the cultural arts with August Wilson. https://charlierose.com/videos/9260 Wednesday 05/18/2005 Playwright August Wilson talks about his new play "Radio Golf" about middle class characters. Best wishes, Thomas. |
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13 Jun 21 - 12:18 AM (#4109948) Subject: RE: August Wilson - African-Amer Life-Music From: Stilly River Sage Terry Gross (Fresh Air) interviewed August Wilson on September 25, 1984 and February 5, 1997. Both of these were combined in the 1997 program linked here. He was interviewed on NPR about A Debate on Race and Politics in Theater on February 5, 1997. I think the Gross interview happened because of this one. I probably heard it when it first broadcast but haven't listened back now. When you talk about creative people being interviewed in the last 35 years or so, always look to see if Terry gave them an hour of excellent conversation. |