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Overview

Synopsis

Jitney is the eighth play in August Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle. It takes place in The Hill District of Pittsburgh in 1977, in a gypsy cab station, during Pittsburgh’s period of so-called “urban renewal.” As the city tries to shut down businesses -- including the cab station -- to make way for new building, we meet five gypsy cab drivers struggling to survive. Wilson’s ensemble piece puts human faces to the process of gentrification seizing the United States, telling of the specific human struggles of Becker, Youngblood, Turnbo, Fielding and Doub as they cling to a nostalgic past, while reaching for an uncertain future. Becker, the owner of the cab station, descends into an emotional spiral when his son, Booster, comes out of jail, where he served time after murdering his ex-girlfriend who falsely accused him of raping her. Youngblood has saved up enough money to buy a house for himself, his girlfriend, and their two-year-old son, Jesse, but even this grand gesture fails to redeem him in the eyes of his girlfriend, Rena, who refuses to forgive him for his unfaithful past. Turnbo is an older man who is distressed with the manners of the young people today, especially those of fellow cab driver, Youngblood, and is obsessed with comparing their actions to those he remembers from his happier past. Recovering alcoholic Fielding, who used to be a tailor, is waging an ongoing battle against his alcoholism, even as his continued drunkenness threatens his job. Doub is a Korean War Veteran, and a longtime jitney driver, who equates his time at war where ‘they never paid [him] no mind’ to the experiences he and his black colleagues have with white men today. Over the course of the play, all five of these men and the characters that come in and out of their lives pose questions about how we can heal past wounds and leap into a less-than-certain future.

Show Information

Category
Play
Age Guidance
Youth (Y)/General Audiences (G)
Number of Acts
2
First Produced
1982
Genres
Drama
Settings
Unit/Single Set
Time & Place
pittsburgh, pennsylvania, 1977
Cast Size
medium
Ideal For
university theatre, black box, community theatre, professional theatre, ensemble cast, College/University, Ensemble Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Small Cast, Mostly Male Cast, Community Theatre, Includes Mature Adult, Adult Characters, Medium Cast

Context


Plot


Characters

Name Part Size Gender Vocal Part

Youngblood

Lead

Male

Spoken

Turnbo

Lead

Male

Spoken

Fielding

Lead

Male

Spoken

Becker

Lead

Male

Spoken

Doub

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Booster

Supporting

Male

Spoken

Rena

Supporting

Female

Spoken

Shealy

Featured

Male

Spoken

Philmore

Featured

Male

Spoken

Songs

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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

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Scenes

All scenes are the property and copyright of their owners. Scenes are presented on StageAgent for educational purposes only. If you would like to give a public performance of this scene, please obtain authorization from the appropriate licensor.

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