This strong, smart production is another step in Geva's entirely worthy program of presenting all of August Wilson's unparalleled ten-play cycle of dramas illustrating and defining the African-American experience of the 20th century. Like most of those plays, Two Trains Running is worthwhile and rewarding in its humor, music, conflict, historical revelations, poetry, anguish and insight. But I do not believe that it is a great play, like Wilson's Fences, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom or The Piano Lesson; or that this excellent revival is an extraordinary theatrical event.
Like Wilson's earlier-written, later-occurring Jitney, Two Trains Running is a fairly simple, naturalistic
play set in Pittsburgh's Hill district after the start of the Civil Rights movement and the assassination of Martin Luther King. Among its classic Wilson elements is a central faith in salvation through mysticism, but the mystical elements like the visits of almost all the central characters to a seer, Aunt Ester, to learn to feel good about themselves are discussed, not shown. The action is straightforward and realistic but drawn out enough to take about three hours for not much activity.
We won't forget that racist oppression is an inescapable part of each character's background, but it, too, is mentioned, not physically shown.
Typically, Memphis takes more time and details to describe the vicious live disemboweling and slaughter of his beloved mule by Mississippi rednecks than he allows to tell about their destruction of his family and farm which drove him north to survive. What we do experience is the self-indulgent crazy behaviors, the richly poetic language, sexy flirtations, and, above all, the bluesy, jazzy music that give vitality and sweetness or minor violence, and even hope to these mostly defeated lives.
Memphis, who seems to have always been angry, tells of his wife's leaving him, though he feels that he worked to give her everything she wanted. He keeps telling of his hopes to return to Mississippi and reclaim his farm there. We are in his restaurant, and all one can see outside is being foreclosed upon; the neighborhood is a lost cause; and Memphis is holding out for $25,000 but was told that he can get no more than $15,000. Even in the unexpected windfall of a municipal allowance of $35,000 that provides an upbeat ending for this play, we sense that Memphis will eventually follow his dream back to Mississippi and meet disaster there.
Hambone, cheated by the white meat-market owner across the street who promised him a ham for painting his fence but then offered only a chicken, is one of those "characters" who are hard to accept. He asks the man for a ham every day of his life, and he repeats "I want my ham!" "He gonna give me my ham!" endlessly whenever we see him. When we hear that Hambone has died, we might just have mixed emotions.
Risa, the bitter waitress, is a beautiful woman frightened of rejection or betrayal, who made cuts in her legs to prevent their attracting men's attention. She offers kindly responses to everyone, like Hambone, but is sexually unavailable until handsome Sterling gets out of prison and tries to woo her while pursuing a job or other get-ahead schemes. He wins on the "numbers" but gets cheated by the white man in charge [we never see these white men] and ends the play in tight with Risa but pretty sure to wind up back in prison.
West, who owns the mortuary across the street, is badmouthed for overcharging and making too much money, but when we meet him, we see that he is fair-minded, rational, and a loser like everyone else.
Oh, about Aunt Eller . A few other characters are shown who believe in her spiritual ability and really believe she is as old as the years that African-Americans have been in this country more than 320! but we don't see her, and her advice to each of them is questionable. It sounds nice that she tells everyone to throw her fee, $20, into the river. But, although admirably not greedy, that's not good advice for poor folks' handling money or keeping the water pure. And her telling one to gamble, another to defy powerful moneylenders, one to go back to Mississippi and demand his stolen property, etc. sounds to me like someone who works for Mr. West, the undertaker.
The cast is uniformly strong with Javon Johnson a charismatic Sterling and A. C. Smith a commanding Memphis, though it might be restful for him to deliver at least one or two lines in something other than a roar.
I like Shaun Motley's big, realistic rundown restaurant and street scene, and Myrna Colley-Lee's characterizing costumes with just the right amount of distressing. Kathy Perkins' lighting is bright and hot but has subtle changes. And Ron OJ Parson's direction seems authentic and reasonably involving but is not a model of brisk pacing.
