[NEohioPAL]Playwright August Wilson

kelly at kellychapman.net kelly at kellychapman.net
Mon Oct 3 07:06:00 PDT 2005


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What a shock to the Arts Community!

=20

I know that Karamu House has been a long time supporter of his plays.  =
He
just received an Anisfeld-Wolf Award in Cleveland less than three weeks =
ago
but was unable to attend.  So sudden and very sad.

  =20

May he rest in peace and may his legacy live on.

=20

Playwright August Wilson Dies of Cancer



=20



Oct 3, 5:12 AM (ET)

By MICHAEL KUCHWARA=20

NEW YORK (AP) - Playwright August Wilson, whose epic 10-play cycle
chronicling the black experience in 20th-century America included such
landmark dramas as "Fences" and "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," died Sunday =
of
liver cancer, a family spokeswoman said. He was 60.=20

Wilson died at Swedish Medical Center in Seattle, surrounded by his =
family,
said Dena Levitin, Wilson's personal assistant. The playwright had =
disclosed
in late August that his illness was inoperable and he had only a few =
months
to live.=20

"We've lost a great writer, I think the greatest writer that our =
generation
has seen and I've lost a dear, dear friend and collaborator," said Kenny
Leon, who directed the Broadway production of "Gem of the Ocean" as well =
as
Wilson's most recent play, "Radio Golf," which just concluded a run in =
Los
Angeles.=20

Leon said Wilson's work, "encompasses all the strength and power that
theater has to offer.""I feel an incredible sense of responsibility on
walking how he would want us to walk and delivering his work."=20

Wilson's plays were big, often sprawling and poetic, dealing primarily =
with
the effects of slavery on succeeding generations of black Americans: =
from
turn-of-century characters who could remember the Civil War to a =
prosperous
middle class at the end of the century who had forgotten the past.=20

The playwright's astonishing creation, which took more than 20 years to
complete, was remarkable not only for his commitment to a certain =
structure
- one play for each decade - but for the quality of the writing. It was =
a
unique achievement in American drama. Not even Eugene O'Neill, who =
authored
the masterpiece "Long Day's Journey Into Night," accomplished such a
monumental effort.=20

During that time, Wilson received the best-play Tony Award for "Fences,"
plus best-play Tony nominations for six of his other plays, the Pulitzer
Prize for both "Fences" and "The Piano Lesson," and a record seven New =
York
Drama Critics' Circle prizes.=20

"The goal was to get them down on paper," he told The Associated Press
during an April 2005 interview as he was completing "Radio Golf," the =
last
play in the cycle. "It was fortunate when I looked up and found I had =
the
two bookends to go. I didn't plan it that way. I was able to connect the =
two
plays."=20

Wilson was referring to "Gem of the Ocean," chronologically the first =
play
in the cycle, although the ninth to be written. It takes place in 1904 =
and
is set in Pittsburgh's Hill District at 1839 Wylie Ave., a specific =
address
that figures prominently, nearly 100 years later, in the last work, =
"Radio
Golf," which premiered in April at the Yale Repertory Theatre.=20

Pittsburgh, Wilson's birthplace, is the setting for nine of the 10 plays =
in
the cycle ("Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is set in a Chicago recording =
studio).
Although he lived in Seattle, the playwright had a great deal of =
affection
for his hometown, especially "the Hill," a dilapidated area of the city
where he spent much of his youth.=20

Wilson, a bulky, affable man who always had a story to tell, usually
returned to Pittsburgh once a year to visit his mother's grave, but he =
said
he couldn't live there: "Too many ghosts. But I love it. That's what =
gave
birth to me."=20

Born Frederick August Kittel on April 27, 1945, he was one of six =
children
of Frederick Kittel, a baker who had emigrated from Germany at the age =
of
10, and Daisy Wilson. A high school dropout, Wilson enlisted in the Army =
but
left after a year, finding employment as a porter, short-order cook and
dishwasher, among other jobs. When his father died in 1965, he changed =
his
name to August Wilson.=20

Wilson was largely self-educated. The public library was his university =
and
the recordings of such iconic singers and musicians as Bessie Smith and
Jelly Roll Morton, and the paintings of such artists as Romare Bearden =
his
inspiration.=20

He started writing in 1965, when he acquired a used typewriter. His =
initial
works were poems, but in 1968, Wilson co-founded Pittsburgh's Black =
Horizon
Theater. Among those early efforts was a play called "Jitney," which he
revised more than two decades later as part of his 10-play cycle.=20

In 1978, he moved to Minnesota, writing for the Science Museum in St. =
Paul
and later landing a fellowship at the Minneapolis Playwrights Center.=20

In 1982, his play, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," was accepted by the =
National
Playwrights Conference at the O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut. It =
was
there that Wilson met Lloyd Richards, who also ran the Yale School of =
Drama.
Their relationship proved fruitful, and Richards directed six of =
Wilson's
plays on Broadway.=20

The first was "Ma Rainey," which opened on Broadway in 1984. Wilson's
reputation was cemented in 1987 by the father-son drama "Fences," his
biggest commercial success. The play, which featured a Tony-winning
performance by James Earl Jones, ran for more than a year.=20

It was followed in New York by "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" (1988), "The
Piano Lesson" (1990), "Two Trains Running" (1992), "Seven Guitars" =
(1996),
"Jitney" (2000), "King Hedley II" (2001) and "Gem of the Ocean" (2004).=20

Wilson's plays gave steady employment to black actors, not only in New =
York
but in regional theaters, where most of his plays tried out before =
coming to
Broadway. Besides Jones, such well-known actors as Laurence Fishburne,
Phylicia Rashad, Angela Bassett, Charles S. Dutton, Brian Stokes =
Mitchell,
S. Epatha Merkerson, Roscoe Lee Browne and Leslie Uggams appeared in his
plays on Broadway.=20

"August's work is like reading a rich novel," says Anthony Chisholm, a
veteran Wilson performer in such plays as "Gem of the Ocean" and "Radio
Golf."=20

"It conjures up vivid images in the mind, and it makes the actor's job
easier because you have something to draw upon to build your character." =


Later this month, a Broadway theater, the Virginia, will be renamed for
Wilson, a rare honor also bestowed on such theater greats as Eugene =
O'Neill,
Richard Rodgers, George Gershwin, Helen Hayes and Al Hirschfeld.=20

Wilson, who was married three times, is survived by his wife, costume
designer Constanza Romero; their daughter Azula Carmen, and another
daughter, Sakina Ansari, from his first marriage.=20

-----------------------------------------

=20

=20

Kelly Chapman, vocalist

Lightworld Records

www.kellychapman.net <http://www.kellychapman.net/>=20

kelly at kellychapman.net

=20

Join the mailing list!

http://Kellychapman.vipemaillist.com =
<http://kellychapman.vipemaillist.com/>


=20

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=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=
=20

=20

This communication may contain privileged and/or confidential =
information.
It is intended solely for the use of the addressee. If you are not the
intended recipient, you are strictly prohibited from disclosing, =
copying,
distributing or using any of this information. If you received this
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<p class=3DMsoNormal><b><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black;font-weight:bol=
d'>What
a shock to the Arts Community!</span></font></b></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><b><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black;font-weight:bol=
d'> </span></font></b></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><b><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black;font-weight:bol=
d'>I
know that Karamu House has been a long time supporter of his =
plays.  He
just received an Anisfeld-Wolf Award in </span></font></b><b><font =
size=3D2
  color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
  color:black;font-weight:bold'>Cleveland</span></font></b><b><font =
size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black;font-weight:bold'> less than three weeks ago but was unable =
to
attend.  So sudden and very sad.</span></font></b></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><b><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black;font-weight:bol=
d'> 
 </span></font></b></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><b><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black;font-weight:bol=
d'>May
he rest in peace and may his legacy live on…</span></font></b></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><b><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black;font-weight:bol=
d'> </span></font></b></p>

<p class=3DMsoNormal><b><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black;font-weight:bol=
d'>Playwright
August Wilson Dies of Cancer</span></font></b></p>

<table class=3DMsoNormalTable border=3D0 cellspacing=3D0 cellpadding=3D0 =
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    style=3D'font-size:2.0pt'> </span></font></p>
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<p class=3DMsoNormal><font size=3D1 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:7.5pt;
font-family:Verdana'><br>
<br>
<span class=3Doldl8>Oct 3, </span></span></font><span =
class=3Doldl8><font size=3D1
 face=3DVerdana><span style=3D'font-size:7.5pt;font-family:Verdana'>5:12 =
AM</span></font></span><span
class=3Doldl8><font size=3D1 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:7.5pt;font-family:
Verdana'> (ET)</span></font></span><font size=3D1 face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:7.5pt;font-family:Verdana'><br>
<br>
</span></font><span class=3Doldl8><font size=3D2 face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana'>By MICHAEL KUCHWARA =
</span></font></span></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
  font-family:Verdana;color:black'>NEW YORK</span></font><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> (AP) - Playwright August Wilson, whose epic 10-play cycle
chronicling the black experience in 20th-century </span></font><font =
size=3D2
  color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
  color:black'>America</span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'> included =
such
landmark dramas as "Fences" and "Ma Rainey's Black =
Bottom,"
died Sunday of liver cancer, a family spokeswoman said. He was 60. =
</span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
  font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span></font><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> died at </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
  =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Swedish</span>=
</font><font
 size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
 Verdana;color:black'> </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
  =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Medical</span>=
</font><font
 size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
 Verdana;color:black'> </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
  =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Center</span><=
/font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> in </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
  =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Seattle</span>=
</font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>, surrounded by his family, said Dena Levitin, =
</span></font><font
  size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
  Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack
face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>'s
personal assistant. The playwright had disclosed in late August that his
illness was inoperable and he had only a few months to live. =
</span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>"We've lost a great writer, I =
think the
greatest writer that our generation has seen and I've lost a dear, dear =
friend
and collaborator," said Kenny Leon, who directed the Broadway =
production
of "Gem of the Ocean" as well as Wilson's most recent play,
"Radio Golf," which just concluded a run in Los Angeles. =
</span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
  font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Leon</span></font><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dblack
face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>
said </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span
  =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span><=
/font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>'s work, "encompasses all the strength and power that =
theater
has to offer.""I feel an incredible sense of responsibility on
walking how he would want us to walk and delivering his work." =
</span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
  font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span></font><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>'s plays were big, often sprawling and poetic, dealing =
primarily
with the effects of slavery on succeeding generations of black =
Americans: from
turn-of-century characters who could remember the Civil War to a =
prosperous
middle class at the end of the century who had forgotten the past. =
</span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>The playwright's astonishing creation, =
which
took more than 20 years to complete, was remarkable not only for his =
commitment
to a certain structure - one play for each decade - but for the quality =
of the
writing. It was a unique achievement in American drama. Not even Eugene
O'Neill, who authored the masterpiece "Long Day's Journey Into
Night," accomplished such a monumental effort. </span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>During that time, Wilson received the
best-play Tony Award for "Fences," plus best-play Tony =
nominations
for six of his other plays, the Pulitzer Prize for both =
"Fences" and
"The Piano Lesson," and a record seven New York Drama Critics' =
Circle
prizes. </span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>"The goal was to get them down on
paper," he told The Associated Press during an April 2005 interview =
as he
was completing "Radio Golf," the last play in the cycle. =
"It was
fortunate when I looked up and found I had the two bookends to go. I =
didn't
plan it that way. I was able to connect the two plays." =
</span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
  font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span></font><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> was referring to "Gem of the Ocean," =
chronologically
the first play in the cycle, although the ninth to be written. It takes =
place
in 1904 and is set in </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
  =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Pittsburgh</sp=
an></font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>'s Hill District at </span></font><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dblack
  face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>1839
  Wylie Ave.</span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>, a specific =
address
that figures prominently, nearly 100 years later, in the last work, =
"Radio
Golf," which premiered in April at the Yale Repertory Theatre. =
</span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
  font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Pittsburgh</span></font><font =
size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>, </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
  =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span><=
/font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>'s birthplace, is the setting for nine of the 10 plays in =
the
cycle ("Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is set in a =
</span></font><font
  size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
  Verdana;color:black'>Chicago</span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack
face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>
recording studio). Although he lived in </span></font><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dblack
  face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Seattle</span>=
</font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>, the playwright had a great deal of affection for his =
hometown,
especially "the Hill," a dilapidated area of the city where he =
spent
much of his youth. </span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Wilson, a bulky, affable man who always =
had a
story to tell, usually returned to </span></font><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dblack
  face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Pittsburgh</sp=
an></font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> once a year to visit his mother's grave, but he said he =
couldn't
live there: "Too many ghosts. But I love it. That's what gave birth =
to
me." </span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Born Frederick August Kittel on =
</span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
 color:black'>April 27, 1945</span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack
face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>,
he was one of six children of Frederick Kittel, a baker who had =
emigrated from </span></font><font
  size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
  Verdana;color:black'>Germany</span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack
face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'> at
the age of 10, and Daisy Wilson. A high school dropout, Wilson enlisted =
in the
Army but left after a year, finding employment as a porter, short-order =
cook
and dishwasher, among other jobs. When his father died in 1965, he =
changed his
name to August </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
  =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span><=
/font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>. </span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
  font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span></font><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> was largely self-educated. The public library was his =
university
and the recordings of such iconic singers and musicians as Bessie Smith =
and Jelly
Roll Morton, and the paintings of such artists as Romare Bearden his
inspiration. </span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>He started writing in 1965, when he =
acquired a
used typewriter. His initial works were poems, but in 1968, =
</span></font><font
  size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
  Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack
face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>
co-founded </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
  =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Pittsburgh</sp=
an></font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>'s Black Horizon Theater. Among those early efforts was a =
play
called "Jitney," which he revised more than two decades later =
as part
of his 10-play cycle. </span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>In 1978, he moved to =
</span></font><font
  size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
  Verdana;color:black'>Minnesota</span></font><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dblack
face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>,
writing for the </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
  =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Science</span>=
</font><font
 size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
 Verdana;color:black'> </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
  =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Museum</span><=
/font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> in </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
  style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>St. =
Paul</span></font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> and later landing a fellowship at the </span></font><font =
size=3D2
  color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
  color:black'>Minneapolis</span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
 style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'> =
</span></font><font
  size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
  Verdana;color:black'>Playwrights</span></font><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dblack
 face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'> =
</span></font><font
  size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
  Verdana;color:black'>Center</span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack
face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>. =
</span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>In 1982, his play, "Ma Rainey's =
Black
Bottom," was accepted by the National Playwrights Conference at the
O'Neill Theater Center in </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
  =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Connecticut</s=
pan></font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>. It was there that </span></font><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dblack
  face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span><=
/font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'> met Lloyd Richards, who also ran the Yale School of Drama. =
Their
relationship proved fruitful, and Richards directed six of =
</span></font><font
  size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
  Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack
face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>'s
plays on Broadway. </span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>The first was "Ma Rainey," =
which
opened on Broadway in 1984. </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack
  face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span><=
/font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>'s reputation was cemented in 1987 by the father-son drama
"Fences," his biggest commercial success. The play, which =
featured a
Tony-winning performance by James Earl Jones, ran for more than a year. =
</span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>It was followed in New York by =
"Joe
Turner's Come and Gone" (1988), "The Piano Lesson" =
(1990),
"Two Trains Running" (1992), "Seven Guitars" (1996),
"Jitney" (2000), "King Hedley II" (2001) and =
"Gem of
the Ocean" (2004). </span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
  font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span></font><font size=3D2
color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>'s plays gave steady employment to black actors, not only =
in </span></font><font
  size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
  Verdana;color:black'>New York</span></font><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dblack
face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>
but in regional theaters, where most of his plays tried out before =
coming to
Broadway. Besides Jones, such well-known actors as Laurence Fishburne, =
Phylicia
Rashad, Angela Bassett, Charles S. Dutton, Brian Stokes Mitchell, S. =
Epatha
Merkerson, Roscoe Lee Browne and Leslie Uggams appeared in his plays on
Broadway. </span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>"August's work is like reading a =
rich
novel," says Anthony Chisholm, a veteran </span></font><font =
size=3D2
  color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
  color:black'>Wilson</span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'> performer in =
such
plays as "Gem of the Ocean" and "Radio Golf." =
</span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>"It conjures up vivid images in =
the mind,
and it makes the actor's job easier because you have something to draw =
upon to
build your character." </span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Later this month, a Broadway theater, =
the </span></font><font
  size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
  Verdana;color:black'>Virginia</span></font><font size=3D2 =
color=3Dblack
face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>,
will be renamed for </span></font><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack =
face=3DVerdana><span
  =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Wilson</span><=
/font><font
size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Verdana;
color:black'>, a rare honor also bestowed on such theater greats as =
Eugene
O'Neill, Richard Rodgers, George Gershwin, Helen Hayes and Al =
Hirschfeld. </span></font></p>

<p><font size=3D2 color=3Dblack face=3DVerdana><span =
style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Verdana;color:black'>Wilson, who was married three times, is
survived by his wife, costume designer Constanza Romero; their daughter =
Azula
Carmen, and another daughter, Sakina Ansari, from his first marriage. =
<br>
</span></font><font size=3D1><span style=3D'font-size:7.5pt'><br>
<!-- Subject: Obit Wilson   =
-->-----------------------------------------</span></font></p>

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