Overview
Synopsis
Seven Guitars begins and ends directly after the funeral of Floyd ‘Schoolboy’ Barton. We then flashback to the week leading up to Floyd’s unusual death. We learn that Floyd has recently been released from jail and has become an overnight sensation with his record ‘That’s All Right’. He comes back to Pittsburgh trying to convince his old love, Vera, to come with him to Chicago so he can become a star. We find out that Floyd has made a lot of mistakes, and he sets off on a journey to right his wrongs and prove to his community that he has changed. As soon as everyone is convinced and it seem as though things are finally going his way, Floyd is killed, and everyone’s world comes crashing down once more. Floyd, as well as the other men in the play, grapple with what it means to be a man, and all of the characters struggle with how to get ahead in a world that seems to be set against everything they are.
Show Information
- Book
- August Wilson
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
- Number of Acts
- 2
- First Produced
- 1995
- Genres
- Drama
- Settings
- Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- backyard of a house in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. 1948.
- Cast Size
- small
- Licensor
- Concord Theatricals
- Ideal For
- College/University, Community Theatre, Ensemble Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Small Cast, Mostly Male Cast, Includes Adult, Mature Adult, Elderly, Young Adult Characters
Context
Seven Guitars is the fifth play in August Wilson’s Century Cycle. It was written in 1995 but takes place many years earlier, in 1948, in the the hill district of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize for drama, nominated for the 1996 Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for best play, and went on to win the 1996 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play. It premiered at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center and is one of August Wilson’s most well known and
to read the context for Seven Guitars and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
Act One
The play begins in the backyard of a house. Vera, Louise, Canewell, Hedley and Red Carter are all sitting around in their Sunday best, having just come from the funeral of Floyd ‘Schoolboy’ Barton. Louise starts singing a song to try to raise everyone’s spirits, and Red Carter joins in. Vera asks everyone if they saw the angels at the cemetery. Red Carter and Louise are skeptical, but Canewell says he saw them too and begins describing them. Vera says that there were six of them
to read the plot for Seven Guitars and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Spoken |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
Spoken |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Spoken |
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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