August Wilson may only be a household name amongst theater devotees, but his plays have been adapted into several critically acclaimed films, including Denzel Washington’s 2016 “Fences” and the upcoming Netflix production of “The Piano Lesson,” streaming in November.
Soon after Wilson’s death in 2005, Geva Theatre presented all 10 of his American Century Cycle plays over a span of five years. Geva is now staging his one-man memoir play, “How I Learned What I Learned,” under the skillful direction of Taneisha Duggan on the Fielding Stage through Dec 1.
Early in the play, Wilson (played by TV and stage actor Stephen Conrad Moore) sets the record straight on an arson rumor. The lone grocery store in his childhood neighborhood was burned down during the uprisings after Martin Luther King, Jr’s assassination. He knows there are rumors that he burned it down. They are not true. Yes, he took a picture triumphantly poised among the ashes of the building’s remains. But that’s only because he knows a good photo op when he sees one.
This is a play that sets the record straight on a mythologized man. August Wilson the prolific and groundbreaking playwright may be a canonized name in American theater. But in this play, he’s just August, a smarter-than-average but still fairly ordinary guy talking about his views on life. One doesn’t need to care about theater history — or even know anything about August Wilson — to get pulled into his stories.
The set design by Nina Ball is a beautifully textured, otherworldly landscape for Wilson to enact his memories and musings. A semicircle of pillars arcs around three metal trunks, which are covered in stunning gray debris of shredded paper. A projection of a metal wall against the back nods to Wilson’s upbringing in Pittsburgh, the steel city, and displays words describing locations and segment titles (projection design by Dan Roach). A stool and table with a hardcover dictionary, typewriter and mug sit centerstage.
It looks like the perfect place to write, but despite Wilson’s status as an iconic playwright, the play isn’t explicitly about writing or his theatrical work. Instead, it’s a 90-minute coming-of-age reflection on his youth and early adulthood, starting with how “at 15 I dropped out of school but I didn’t drop out of life.” One of his first challenges was finding (and keeping) a job to pay his $25 biweekly rent. Other topics include tales of going to jail, his first kiss, an affair with a married woman, witnessing a murder and listening to John Coltrane.
When he does open the dictionary, it’s to share a definition of black as “outrageously wicked” to help illustrate how Americans are “victims of their linguistic environment” – that is, it’s hard to escape racism when inferiority of Black people is built into the language.
The show confronts racism in America with both humor and poetry. Most of Wilson’s clothing is nondescript business casual (costume design by Jarrod Barnes), but at one point, he takes off a black apron and jean jacket shirt to reveal a t-shirt with the text “I was supposed to be white.” He jokes he bought it on eBay from a man named Clarence Thomas. The punchline is followed by an insistence that his existence is not a mistake. “We are not Black by accident,” he says. “Our births are moments of profound creativity.”
The production design, for the most part, enhances the performance. The sound design by Tye Hunt Fitzgerald and Rasean Davonté Johnson adds atmosphere through the murmur of a crowded bar or a typewriter click merging with African drums. The lighting design by Xavier Pierce differentiates scenes with fiery reds or rich purples, although some of the changes are too abrupt, denying the transitions space to breathe.
The highlight of the show is Stephen Conrad Moore’s performance. The piece was originally performed by Wilson himself in 2003, under the direction of co-conceiver Todd Kreidler. Those are big shoes to fill, but Moore adds a contemporary energy that makes this piece from two decades ago feel fresh and relevant. Through strong control over his vocal range and facial expressions, Moore is animated and engaging without feeling forced or unnatural. He captures both the gravitas and sly humor of Wilson’s writing. It’s a treat to hear Wilson’s language — poetic, accessible, engaging — tumble out of Moore with charisma and depth.
One person shows are increasingly popular as theaters navigate budgetary constraints, but difficult to pull off; the entire show rests on one actor, and audiences paying for a theater ticket expect enough production value to feel worthy of a night out at the theater. Geva has a track record of excelling at these productions, exemplified by recent shows centering on Frida Kahlo and Billie Holiday.
“How I Learned What I Learned” is another strong offering, both honoring and humanizing one of America’s greatest 20th century playwrights. For more tickets and information, visit Geva’s website.
Katherine Varga is a contributor to CITY.
This article appears in Oct 1-31, 2024.
