"Wilson's melody here is the mournful sound of what might have been, a
blues-tinged tale about a driven, almost demonic man. He's a petty thief
named King who will stop at nothing for a better life. . . . King
Hedley is a big play, filled with big emotions and big speeches. These
aria-like monologues are rich in humor, heartbreak and the astonishing
details that go into creating real people. With his latest arrival on
Broadway, Wilson only has the first and last decades of the twentieth
century to chronicle--it's been quite a journey. King Hedley will only
add to that towering achievement."--Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press
"What makes Wilson America's greatest living playwright--aside from his
gift for dialogue, which blends searing poetry with uncompromising
realism--is the bracing humanism with which he provides insight into the
struggles and aspirations of all individuals."--Elysa Gardner, USA
Today
King Hedley II is the eighth work in playwright August Wilson's
10-play cycle chronicling the history of the African American experience
in each decade of the twentieth century. It's set in 1985 and tells the
story of an ex-con in post-Reagan Pittsburgh trying to rebuild his life.
Many critics have hailed the work as a haunting and challenging tragedy
of Shakespearean proportions.
August Wilson is the most influential and successful African
American playwright writing today. He is the two-time Pulitzer
Prize-winning author of Fences, The Piano Lesson, Ma Rainey's Black
Bottom, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Seven Guitars, Two Trains
Running and Jitney. His plays have been produced all over the world,
as well as on Broadway.
