The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation presents

August Wilson's Seven Guitars

The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation presents

August Wilson's Seven Guitars

Directed by Ron "OJ" Parson

Not Currently Playing

Moe and Jack's Place — The Rouse Theatre

About the Show

It’s 1948 in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, and blues music echoes throughout the neighborhood. A group of old friends gathers to mourn and reminisce about Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton — a gifted guitarist whose star was on the rise and whose untimely death has irrevocably changed each of them. With live blues and lyrical dialogue, August Wilson weaves a poetic and poignant composition about the Black American experience. This landmark, Tony Award-winning play — a part of Wilson’s American Century Cycle — promises a soulful exploration of the ties that bind and the chords that hold us together.

Content Advisory

August Wilson’s Seven Guitars is suitable for adult and older teenage audiences. This landmark script contains adult language (including the n-word) as it explores the tunes of life for the story’s characters. Through poetic dialogue and blues melodies, they speak frankly and deeply about hardship, violence, death and racism.

Running Time

The show runs approximately 3 hours, with a 20-minute intermission.

View the Program

You can view the Digital Program now online

Digital Program

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A Story As Soulful As Its Music

Lyrical language, earnest characters and a skillful infusion of the blues reveal the true wonder of Seven Guitars.

Saran Bakari (she/her)

Ruby

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Bryant Bentley (he/Him)

Red Carter/Fight Captain

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Kevin Brown (he/him)

Hedley

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Kierra Bunch (she/her)

Vera Dotson

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Marsha Estell (she/her)

Louise/Dance Captain

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Dimonte Henning (he/him)

Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton

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Vincent Jordan (he/him)

Canewell

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August Wilson

Playwright

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 experience of African-Americans, decade-by-decade, over the course of the twentieth century. His plays have been produced at regional theaters across the country and all over the world, as well as on Broadway. In 2003, Mr. Wilson made his professional stage debut in his one-man show, How I Learned What I Learned. Mr. Wilson’s works garnered many awards including Pulitzer Prizes for Fences (1987); and for The Piano Lesson (1990); a Tony Award for Fences; Great Britain’s Olivier Award for Jitney; as well as eight New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running, Seven Guitars, Jitney, and Radio Golf. Additionally, the cast recording of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom received a 1985 Grammy Award, and Mr. Wilson received a 1995 Emmy Award nomination for his screenplay adaptation of The Piano Lesson. Mr. Wilson’s early works included the one-act plays The Janitor, Recycle, The Coldest Day of the Year, Malcolm X, The Homecoming and the musical satire Black Bart and the Sacred Hills. Mr. Wilson received many fellowships and awards, including Rockefeller and Guggenheim Fellowships in Playwrighting, the Whiting Writers Award, 2003 Heinz Award, was awarded a 1999 National Humanities Medal by the President of the United States, and received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities, as well as the only high school diploma ever issued by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He was an alumnus of New Dramatists, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 1995 inductee into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and on October 16, 2005, Broadway renamed the theater located at 245 West 52nd Street - The August Wilson Theatre. Additionally, Mr. Wilson was posthumously inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2007. Mr. Wilson was born and raised in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and lived in Seattle, Washington at the time of his death. He is immediately survived by his two daughters, Sakina Ansari and Azula Carmen Wilson, and his wife, costume designer Constanza Romero.

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Ron OJ Parson (he/him)

Director

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Shaun L. Motley (he/him)

Set Designer

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Yvonne L. Miranda (she/her)

Costume Designer

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Jason Fassl (he/him)

Lighting Designer

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Andre J. Pluess (he/him)

Sound Designer

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Cristin Carole (she/her)

Movement/Intimacy Consultant

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Jonathan Hetler (he/him)

Casting Director

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Brooke Redler (she/her)

Stage Manager

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Andrea L. Shell (she/her)

Second Stage Manager

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Photos

GALLERY

Dimonte Henning (Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton), Bryant Bentley (Red Carter) and Vincent Jordan (Canewell) in co-production with Milwaukee Repertory Theater of August Wilson’s Seven Guitars. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

The cast of August Wilson’s Seven Guitars in co-production with Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Kierra Bunch (Vera Dotson) and Dimonte Henning (Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton”) in co-production with Milwaukee Repertory Theater of August Wilson’s Seven Guitars. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Dimonte Henning (Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton), Bryant Bentley (Red Carter), Vincent Jordan (Canewell) and Kevin Brown (Hedley) in August Wilson's Seven Guitars in co-production with Milwaukee Repertory Theater. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Marsha Estell (Louise), Kierra Bunch (Vera Dotsun) and Saran Bakari (Ruby) in co-production with Milwaukee Repertory Theater of August Wilson’s Seven Guitars. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Saran Bakari (Ruby) and Dimonte Henning (Floyd “Schoolboy” Barton) in co-production with Milwaukee Repertory Theater of August Wilson’s Seven Guitars. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

Vincent Jordan (Canewell) and Kevin Brown (Hedley) in co-production with Milwaukee Repertory Theater of August Wilson’s Seven Guitars. Photo by Michael Brosilow.