"August Wilson's Jitney"
JITNEY by August Wilson Set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District in 1977, *Jitney* is a powerful and deeply human drama by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. The play takes place inside an unlicensed taxi station, where a group of Black men earn their living driving members of the community to places traditional taxi companies refuse to serve. At the center of the story is Becker, the respected manager of the jitney station, who struggles to hold the business and its drivers together as the neighborhood faces redevelopment and the station is threatened with demolition. His world is further shaken by the return of his son, Booster, after twenty years in prison, forcing father and son to confront years of anger, disappointment, loss, and unresolved pain. Around them, Wilson introduces a rich ensemble of characters whose humor, arguments, dreams, relationships, and struggles reveal the complexities of Black working-class life in 1970s America.
5 roles
The respected manager of the jitney station. Becker is disciplined, hardworking, proud, and deeply committed to maintaining order among his drivers. Beneath his controlled exterior is a father carrying tremendous grief, anger, and disappointment. The return of his son Booster after twenty years in prison forces Becker to confront emotions he has spent decades suppressing.
Becker’s son, recently released after serving twenty years in prison. Intelligent, proud, intense, and emotionally complicated, Booster returns hoping to reconnect with his father. Their relationship becomes one of the emotional centers of the play.
A longtime jitney driver who always seems to know everybody’s business—and has no problem commenting on it. Opinionated, suspicious, argumentative, and often very funny, Turnbo can turn casual conversation into confrontation in seconds. His tendency to interfere in other people’s lives eventually creates serious consequences.
A younger jitney driver and Vietnam veteran trying to build a future for himself, his girlfriend Rena, and their young son. Ambitious and determined but sometimes immature, Youngblood wants to prove that he can become the man and provider his family needs.
A numbers runner who uses the jitney station as a base for conducting his business. Stylish, confident, quick-witted, and entrepreneurial, Shealy brings humor and energy whenever he enters the room.
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