ALLEY THEATRE
www.alleytheatre.org
Gregory Boyd, Artistic Director
Paul R. Tetreault, Managing Director
ALLEY THEATRE
BEGINS THE NEW YEAR
WITH AUGUST WILSON'S
JITNEY
January 16th through February 9th, 2002
The Alley Theatre begins the New Year with a production of August Wilson's examination of 1970's Pittsburgh, JITNEY.
Part of Wilson's decade - by - decade exploration of African - American life in the 20th century (which includes Seven
Guitars, Fences and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), JITNEY was one of Wilson's first plays. It was originally written in 1978,
but not performed professionally until 1996 in a revised version. JITNEY can be seen on the Alley Theatre Large Stage
beginning January 11 through February 9, 2002, with the official opening on January 16, 2002. Jonathan Wilson, who also
directed the Alley's production of Seven Guitars, will direct; former Resident Company Alex Allen Morris returns.
The Humphreys Foundation and Williams are co - sponsors of this production, along with The Stanford Group, the Alley
Theatre's 2001 - 2002 Large Stage Season Sponsor.
JITNEY takes place in an unlicensed cab service in the Pittsburgh Hill District in 1977. Becker is the owner of the jitney
service office where five men gather daily awaiting client calls. Faced with his son's pending release from prison and city
threats to tear down his garage, Becker must stand together with his drivers and fight to hold on to all that they value.
August Wilson was born in Pittsburgh in 1945. At 16, Wilson dropped out of school and began educating himself at the local
library and submitting writings to African - American publications. In 1968, he became involved in theatre and founded Black
Horizons on the Hill, a theatre company in Pittsburgh. JITNEY was written in 1978 and noted by critics at the time for the
verity with which it depicted African American life. It was after JITNEY that Wilson completed Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,
part of his cycle of ten plays designed to explore African American life in the United States. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
earned Wilson critical success, and was produced on Broadway in 1984. Other titles in Wilson's cycle of plays includes
Fences, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running and Seven Guitars. Wilson has won numerous
award for his writings including two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama and two Drama Desk Outstanding New Play Awards for his
plays Fences (1987) and The Piano Lesson (1990), as well as a Tony Award for Fences in 1987.
The cast for JITNEY is comprised of three local actors and six national actors. Local actors include Wayne DeHart as
Fielding (Ensemble Theatre's Diary of a Blackman and Camp Logan; films Jason's Lyric and A Time to Kill), Henry Giles as
Philmore (Alley's Houston Young Playwright's Exchange) and Steven J. Scott as Youngblood (Kennedy Center's Fences).
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Alley Theatre Begins the New Year with
August Wilson's JITNEY, a Return to African - American Life in the 70s
WHAT: JITNEY
By August Wilson
Directed by Jonathan Wilson
From the internationally acclaimed author of Seven Guitars and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, JITNEY is August Wilson's
examination of 1970's Pittsburgh. Part of Wilson's decade - by - decade exploration of African - American life in the 20th
century, JITNEY was Wilson's first play and was noted for the fidelity with which it portrayed black urban speech and life.
Wilson's play takes a deep look at one community's attempts to hold onto their way of life in the face of threats to tear down
the taxi dispatch office that has served as the neighborhood's longtime gathering spot. Jonathan Wilson, who also directed the
Alley's production of Seven Guitars, will direct.
The Humphrey's Foundation and Williams are co - sponsors for this production of JITNEY, along with the Stanford Group,
the Alley Theatre's 2001 - 2002 Large Stage Season sponsor.
WHEN: January 11 - February 9, 2002
WHERE: Alley Theatre, Large Stage
615 Texas Avenue, Houston, Texas
TICKETS: Tickets to JITNEY can be purchased at www.alleytheatre.org, at the Alley Theatre Box Office, 615 Texas
Avenue, or by calling 713-228-8421. Tickets to preview performances are $20 - $40; tickets to performances on or after the
January 16, 2002 opening range from $35 - $50. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets at a discounted rate by calling
713-228-9341 ext. 346.
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Alley Theatre Performance of JITNEY to Benefit United Negro College Fund
UNCF Benefit Performance Scheduled for 7:30pm Sunday January 27, 2002
Houston, Texas - The Alley Theatre will contribute proceeds from the 7:30pm Sunday, January 27, 2002 performance of
August Wilson's JITNEY to the United Negro College Fund, the nation's oldest and most successful African American higher
education assistance organization.
From the three - time Pulitzer Prize - winner August Wilson, JITNEY is currently running on the Alley Theatre Large Stage
through February 9, 2002. Part of his decade - by - decade exploration of African - American life in the 20th century (which
includes Seven Guitars, Fences, and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom), JITNEY was one of Wilson's first plays. Set in the 1970's,
JITNEY follows the lives of five drivers of a Pittsburgh cab service:
Youngblood, a one - time player struggling to move his family to a better neighborhood; Turnbo, the one who knows
everybody's "business;" Fielding, the ex - tailor who can't shake the bottle; Doub, a level headed veteran of the Korea War
and Becker, a proud man whose son is being released from the penitentiary. When the city threatens to demolish the block
where the cab service sits, the group must stand together to hold on to all they value.
TICKETS INFORMATION:
All proceeds from ticket sales to the 7:30pm January 27, 2002 performance of JITNEY will benefit the United
Negro College Fund. Tickets to this performance can be purchased at www.alleytheatre.org, at the Alley Theatre
Box Office, 615 Texas Avenue, or by calling 713-228-8421. Ticket prices range from $35 - $50. Groups of 10 or
more can purchase tickets at a discounted rate by calling 713-228-9341 ext. 346.