Next up at the Weekend Theater is August Wilson’s Two Trains Running.  It opens tonight and plays Fridays and Saturdays through September 5.

The play is a story about love, hate, and the struggles that ordinary African Americans faced in a Pittsburgh neighborhood in 1969. The gossip, debates, philosophizing, and storytelling that take place in Memphis’ restaurant reflect the oral tradition of African American culture. Wilson’s characters appear engaged in talk that seems detached from the racial riots, assassinations, and antiwar protest that marked this era and damaged black areas economically. The restaurant and the neighborhood are on the brink of economic development.

Wilson explores their social and psychological manifestations of changing attitudes toward race. Seeking to escape from poverty, racism, and “Jim Crow” laws, many black Americans migrated to northern industrial cities during the early and mid-20th century where Wilson reveals simple truths, hopes and dreams for a community on the brink of change.

The play is directed by Jamie Scott Blakey and Margaret Parker.  The cast features Jermaine McClure, Rodney Ford, Eric Tate, Keith Harper, Kearie Saine, Ronald Coleman and Cherisse Coleman.  

Performances begin at 7:30pm.  The box office opens at 6:30pm. Seating is general admission and begins at 7:00pm.