Jitney: an unlicensed taxicab, according to Webster. Jitney on Broadway: a tour de force of great writing, brilliant direction, and stellar performances, according to anyone lucky enough to experience this production. The entire play takes place in a shabby storefront which acts as a base of operations for a car service business. It seems obvious that both the business and several of the men who work there are at the end of a long, hard journey. We tend to take this at face value and to dismiss the thought that anything interesting and worthwhile is going to happen in this dilapidated place. How wrong that assumption turns out to be. This is the Hill District of Pittsburgh, forever in our theater consciousness because of playwright August Wilson. We have to wonder; as he wrote, did Wilson know that Jitney was just the first of his ten plays, ten decades cycle? Did he realize how compelling this subsection of this rust belt city would be? The year is 1977, but except for some archaic touches, like the pay phone on the wall, it could easily be today. Businesses are closing, buildings are boarded up, and people in the inner city are scrambling to make a decent living. Men wander in and out of the room that serves as both an office and a lounge for the drivers. At the center of it all is Becker (John Douglas Thompson), who is the boss and the grounding member of the group. He’s surrounded by an array of characters, including the gossip, Turnbo (Michael Potts), who always has his ear to the ground and his nose in everyone’s business; the often drunk Fielding (Anthony Chisholm); Doub (Keith Randolph Smith), who tells his wartime tale of horror and resilience, and Shealy (Harvey Blanks), who uses the car service phone to facilitate his numbers running. The fastest beating heart of Jitney belongs to Youngblood (Andre Holland), a Vietnam vet who is trying to do right for his girlfriend, Rena (Carra Patterson), and their two-year-old son. He’s willing to work day and night to provide for them, and to get them the house that will provide a better future for his son. But when Becker declares that the next logical step is marriage, Youngblood seems to find the idea not to his liking. In the wake of the disheartening news that the building will be boarded up and torn down, Becker also has to deal with his son, Booster (Brandon J. Dirden), who has just been released from prison. There’s no doubt that he committed the murder for which he was convicted, but in his own mind, according to his personal code of honor, he was justified. Booster was an intelligent young man, destined to go places. He was the pride and joy of Becker’s life; not only was Becker torn apart by seeing his son shame the family, but he also believes that when Booster was sentenced, Becker’s wife stopped eating and gave up on life. Their confrontation scene is raw, searing, and nearly operatic. All credit goes to everyone involved with this production. The set, the costumes, the lighting are perfect. The actors simply could not be any better, and as an ensemble, they are incandescent. Director Ruben Santiago-Hudson has not only brilliantly staged the action, but he has also created a virtual ballet of movement, and a symphony of making every line of this modern classic have meaning and poetry. Get your tickets now; Jitney is a ride well worth taking.
