Review: Wilson Play Gets Superb Revival

In this photo provided by The Publicity Office, (left to right) Frankie Faison and Arthur French in a scene from the Signature Theatre Company's revival of August Wilson's "Two Trains Running,'' now playing off-Broadway. (AP Photo/The Publicity Office/Carol Rosegg) (Carol Rosegg - AP)

NEW YORK -- It is 1969, a time of rising black power. Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy are gone. Cities have been scarred by rioting. But in a dilapidated Pittsburgh diner owned by an enterprising, self-made businessman named Memphis, the talk is more personal _ of love, death and dreams.

And when the talk is written by August Wilson, you listen. Nobody tells a story better than the characters who populate Wilson's plays, even when, as in "Two Trains Running," these raconteurs hold court for more than three hours.

Funny, though, you won't notice the time in the Signature Theatre Company's superb revival of the play, which opened Sunday off-Broadway. Lovingly directed by Lou Bellamy, the production features a cast completely attuned to Wilson's love of language, particularly its musicality and humor.

You see it most conspicuously in Memphis, portrayed with a paternal generosity by the amazing Frankie Faison, a veteran of many Wilson plays. Memphis dreams of returning to the South, to reclaim his land stolen by white men. "Two trains running, neither one going my way" goes the line in a famous blues song, but Memphis is determined to succeed _ get that land and get a fair payment for his diner, scheduled for demolition.

Dreams also dominate Sterling, a young con artist. He's recently released from prison, looking for a job and perhaps a romance with Risa, a resentful, slow-moving waitress who has some serious emotional baggage of her own.

The man is also in need of a little self-esteem, and he finds it in black power. Chad L. Coleman deftly portrays Sterling's swagger, a pose that earns him points with Risa, whose damaged emotional state is expertly created by January LaVoy. When the two finally connect, dancing to the music of a jukebox, it is one of the evening's most poignant moments.

Other denizens of the diner include Wolf, a natty numbers runner, played by Ron Cephas Jones with just the right amount of menace, and Holloway, the greasy spoon's resident philosopher, who delivers such pronouncements as "That's all you've got _ love and death. Death will find you. It's up to you to find love." Arthur French, another experienced Wilson actor, makes these statements ring with an eerie authenticity.

Then there's Hambone (Leon Addison Brown), a mentally damaged vagrant, who, years ago, painted a fence for the local butcher _ and demanded a ham as payment. He never got it, but his refrain, "I want my ham," echoes throughout the play.

These stories are played out against the backdrop of funeral preparations for the Prophet Samuel, a financially well-off minister who is being buried by the local, equally successful, funeral director, played by Ed Wheeler.

It's not necessary to have seen other Wilson plays to appreciate this revival, but knowledge of characters from his other works adds an another layer of interest to this already rich play.

One unseen character in "Two Trains Running" is the ancient Aunt Esther (who figures most prominently in Wilson's "Gem of the Ocean"). She is talked about by those on stage as a kind of mystical guidance counselor, a woman they turn to in times of spiritual crisis.

Wilson died of liver cancer in October 2005, shortly after completely "Radio Golf," the final play in his 10-play cycle about the black experience in America during the 20th century. His death was an incalculable loss to the American theater. But captivating productions such as the Signature's version of "Two Trains Running" are the most appropriate memorials.

Next up during the Signature's season-long Wilson salute, "King Hedley II," perhaps his most problematic play. It runs Feb. 20-April 15.