A lot of the theater we see is fanciful make-believe, aimed at entertaining, but sometimes lacking soul. That’s not what happens with the current Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park production of August Wilson’s Jitney, although some raucous Rhythm & Blues music might make you momentarily expect something light. In fact, as the production’s nine actors enter individually, they step right up to the thrust stage’s apron, backed by Tony Cisek’s run-down inner-city storefront and looming historic urban buildings. They look at the audience and they dance!
Director Timothy Douglas has imbued Wilson’s often sad and sometimes tragic tale of hardworking men scraping to get by with a sense of humor. Of course, the poetry and lightness are there in the words the masterful playwright wrote for his characters, but too often his plays come across as somber sermons about the African-American experience. (Jitney was Wilson’s first play, written in 1979, before he conceived of his monumental cycle of ten plays set in the various decades of the 20th century.)
Douglas’ Jitney has an undercurrent of joy, despite the desperate straits of many of its characters. Lost loves, quick tempers, questionable motives and broken families are all represented. But stories are often told with as much good nature as sadness, and Douglas has coached his excellent cast to allow the full humanity of the stories to blossom and soak in. Subsequent audiences will likely respond as warmly as they did on opening night, smiling and chuckling as yarns are spun and petty grievances are aired. Rather than make-believe, Wilson’s play with Douglas at the helm is two-and-a-half hours of “make-you-believe.”
Jitney offers eight men and one woman in the orbit of the gypsy cab station run by stolid, conservative Becker (Raymond Anthony Thomas). Although unlicensed cabs were fly-by-night, he explains that this is a “car service” for people living in Pittsburgh’s downtrodden Hill District — with an emphasis on service. He’s proud of what he’s established and he expects each of his drivers to live by the rules posted on the wall: “1) No Overcharging; 2) Keep Car Clean; 3) No Drinking; 4) Be Courteous; 5) Replace and Clean Tools.”
Becker’s drivers range from hotheaded Youngblood (Michael Kevin Darnall), in his 20s, to Doub (Michael Anthony Williams), a Korean War veteran and Becker’s longtime friend. Turnbo (Dion Graham) is a loquacious busybody, always nosing into the business of others, despite his constant assertions that “I ain’t tryin’ to get in your business,” repeated to the point that laughter is evoked. Fielding (Doug Brown), once a tailor with a high-end clientele, has been reduced by alcohol to an unreliable driver who talks too much.
In and out of the office are Shealy (Jefferson A. Russell), who uses the station’s payphone to take numbers, Philmore (Kenneth Early), a local hotel doorman who frequently needs a lift and Rena (Stori Ayers), Youngblood’s clear-headed girlfriend and the worried mother of his son.
Finally there’s Booster (Shane Taylor), Becker’s son, and the source of Jitney’s most heartbreaking tale: Found guilty of a passionate murder, Booster comes out of prison after 20 years. During that incarceration, his disappointed father has never visited him, bitter over Booster’s wasted potential.
Every member of Douglas’ cast is a stellar performer who has several moments to step forward and tell his story. Shealy’s monologue about a long-lost love who’s now his standard of comparison is the first long story in Wilson’s script, but many more follow, including Turnbo’s dissertations on Youngblood’s errant ways and Booster’s crime and Fielding’s reminiscences about the wife he abandoned 22 years earlier but still dreams of. These vivid characters are drawn with detail and humanity; the actors bring each one to believable life.
Wilson spins these tales out under the umbrella of threatened existence. Becker has been notified that the city intends to demolish the block that includes his jitney station. He’s not certain what to do next; he might be too old to start over and his troops are not the most reliable. Booster’s return exacerbates his emotions. But each man is uneasy in the face of change. They decide to rally against the closure, while it’s evident that the tide is running against them.
Despite that, the desire to overcome fuels the end of the story and the coherence of these disparate characters is heart-warming. The show ends as it began, with the performers dancing and then taking their bows. On opening night, the audience was quick to provide a genuine standing ovation.
JITNEY, presented by Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, continues through Nov. 12. More info: cincyplayhouse.com.
This article appears in Oct 19-26, 2016.
