Remembering August Wilson

In the fall of 2000, I had the rare opportunity of watching a genius at work. I was in the development department at Pittsburgh Public Theater when we moved our company from the North Side to a brand new theater, the O'Reilly, in the downtown cultural district. We'd been planning this move for years and I was working on a capital campaign to help pay for it.

We knew we had to do something spectacular as the first show on our new stage. Fortunately, our Artistic Director and our company itself had a long-term relationship with August Wilson. We had enjoyed huge critical and commercial successes with several of the plays in his "Decade Series," and he loved staging shows in his hometown just blocks away from the Hill District, where he grew up. August was close to finishing what I believe was the 8th play in his series, and he agreed to let us do the world premiere as the inaugural show in the O'Reilly. Thus, our love affair with King Hedley II began.

Since it was a world premiere, August, the director Marion McClinton, and the cast spent several extra weeks in residence with PPT while they workshopped and rehearsed the new show. The cast included Tony Todd, of "Candyman" fame, and I have some funny stories there for another time. Watching the process by which they shaped this play was amazing. From the first table reading through rehearsals on stage through the extended run of the show, we all really felt like we were witnessing artistic magic. August was clearly a poet. This first production of Hedley clocked in at about 4 hours, long before any of the cuts that took place in its tour of regionals before making it to Broadway. As far as I can remember, I saw the show in its entirety 4 times between December and February. Each time I saw it I noticed slight changes - a new monologue here, a change in blocking there, a shortened speech here - and the show kept getting better and better. I don't know if Hedley has ever gotten as tight and crisp as Fences, the first Wilson show I saw, but it was emotional and provocative and spiritual, with more than a few moments of sheer brilliance.

I was intimidated at first when I learned that August would be walking in the same halls as all of us. I had never really met anyone who had been called a genius before, and I wasn't sure what he would be like. Honestly, he was one of the shyest, quietest, and most sweetly modest people I've ever worked with. My clearest memories? Sharing dinner with him, his wife, his daughter, and about 8 other PPT staffers at Lemongrass restaurant. Getting excited with Lane and Teddy Z about buying our daily lottery tickets, and having August chip in on our group pool. We laughed about splitting our winnings with him. And, of course, all of us smiling whenever we passed the "August Wilson Honorary Smoking Spot" for years after.

I think that all of us at PPT at the time still treasure those memories, as it was a chance for us to witness creation. Some have called August Wilson the greatest American poet/playwright since Tennessee Williams, and he was arguably the biggest force in American theater in the late 20th Century. I am proud to say that for just a short time my life coincided with his. Even though he is gone, his words and his characters will continue to evoke and inspire.