Last week, my sister sent me a text saying that she’d forgotten to text me three days prior – the seventh anniversary of our mother’s death. I miss our mother every day, and the distance between the times that I think that I really should give her a call are growing further and further apart. I leaned a lot from my mother – sometimes whether I liked it or not. One cannot deny the impact that a mother has on her children.
Learning lessons from his mother plays a big part in August Wilson’s “How I Learned What I Learned,” now playing at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley in Mountain View. It’s a solo, autobiographical piece, with the actor portraying Wilson himself, telling stories of events that shaped him while growing up in the Hill District section of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the late 1950s to the early 1970’s. Wilson began portraying himself when the play originally opened at Seattle Rep, and he performed it whenever he was able for two years before passing away from liver cancer in 2005.
Playing Wilson in this production is the fabulous Steven Anthony Jones. I have seen videos of August Wilson from various sources, as one does when one is interested in theatre, and when the lights came up and we saw the shadow of a figure step onto the stage with a suit coat on and an upturned-brimmed fedora on his head, I sat in the theatre and thought to myself for the briefest of moments “wait…that IS August Wilson.” And though I know that we lost the author of “Fences,” “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” and “The Piano Lesson” nineteen years ago, Jones’ wonderful portrayal had me thinking that August Wilson had returned to us for a bit under two hours because there were things about him that we needed to know. I cannot say enough about how ably Mr. Jones takes us through Wilson’s life – from his childhood with his mother, living in a small apartment – to quitting school at 15 because he was accused of plagiarism – to his difficulty as an black man cashing a $750 check in Los Angeles, and so much more in between. Throughout, Jones expresses the sadness and righteous anger of his experiences with racism as well as the joys he found in is life as a young man in Pittsburg: befriending other poets, artists, musicians, junkies, homeless people, and – of course – the ladies.
Oregon Shakespeare Festival Artisitc Director (and personal friend of August Wilson) Tim Bond directs this wonderful production to perfection. Nina Ball’s sets are fantastic, and Xavier Pierce’s lighting sets the mood, place, and transitions quite well. Projections designed by Rasean Davonté Johnson are absolutely fantastic. Costanza Romero, Wilson’s widow, has triple duty as costume designer, dramaturg, and creative consultant and…well…what can I say? If Ms. Romero doesn’t know what Wilson wore and how he looked wearing it, then nobody does.
I read something alarming in my press packet – after this show closes in Mountain View, they are doing a brief tour through the Bay Area, then Mr. Jones is moving east to be closer to his children and grandchildren. This is the Bay Area’s last chance to see this brilliant actor perform. So go and see Steven Anthony Jones as August Wilson in “How I Learned What I Learned” at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley before it’s too late. Trust me, you won’t regret it if you do.
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Rating: ***** (For an explanation of Theatrestorm’s rating scale, click here.)
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“How I Learned What I Learned” Written by August Wilson. Co-Concieved by Todd Kreidler. Produced by Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Theatreworks Silicon Valley. Director: Tim Bond. Scenic Design: Nina Ball. Costume Design/Dramaturg/Creative Consultant: Constanza Romero. Lighting Design: Xavier Pierce. Sound & Projections Design: Rasean Davonté Johnson.
Cast:
August Wilson: Steven Anthony Jones
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