Jitney

It’s hard to imagine a situation in which one of the plays from August Wilson’s “century cycle”—his series reflecting each of the 20th century’s decades in the lives of African Americans in Pittsburgh, Pa.—wouldn’t still be relevant. In the case of Celebration Arts’ masterful production of Jitney, a group of middle-aged black men attempt to make a living as unlicensed cab drivers in the rough economy of the late ’70s, while also coping with urban renewal’s implacable destruction of neighborhoods and the family pressures caused by expectations and incarceration. Except for the rotary-dial payphone on the wall, this story could be ripped from the headlines.

Youngblood (Tory Scroggins, in a shining Celebration Arts debut), a Vietnam vet desperate to build a home for his woman and child, is feeling the pinch both of working two jobs and having the troublesome Turnbo (Andre Ramey) carrying tales on him to his girlfriend, Rena (Alexandra Barthel). Doub (an outstanding Greg Jones) just wants to get along. Philmore (Tarig Elsiddig) wants to get ahead. Shealy (Kelton Howard), the local numbers man, wants to find a woman who can make him forget the one that got away. Fielding (the sly and funny Cameron Johnson) wants to be left alone to drink himself to whatever.

But the real heart of the play is Becker (Preston Collier), who runs the station that these drivers work out of—and who must cope with the release from prison of his only son, Booster (Noah Hayes), after 20 years on a murder charge. As the moral center of the play, the question for Becker becomes: How much moral outrage can a man tolerate without breaking down? Collier turns what could be a one-note role into something with depth as he reveals the reservoir of grief beneath his anger.

This father-and-son dynamic plays out in other ways, too, as Doub steps up to offer much-needed guidance to Youngblood. We see just how crucial created family can be in the lives of young men on the edge.

Director James Wheatley has once again shown a deft hand with the poetry and emotional ballet of the late Wilson’s work. He’s aided in this by fantastic casting. As always, the “century cycle” brings out actors with a great deal of experience on stage, and it shows. However, the production is plagued by lengthy blackouts that could be streamlined a bit and would no doubt benefit the pacing of the play.