King Hedley II
King Hedley II | |
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The Pittsburgh Cycle | |
Subject | A man's salvation and a quest for redemption for a family and a people |
Genre | Drama |
Setting | The Hill District, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 1985 |
King Hedley II is a play by American playwright
Productions
King Hedley II premiered at the
The play opened on
The play ran
Plot synopsis
King Hedley II is the ninth play in August Wilson’s ten-play cycle that, decade by decade, examines African American life in the United States during the twentieth century. Set in
Hedley’s wish, now that he has returned to Pittsburgh from prison, is to support himself by selling refrigerators and to start a family. Set during the
- Characters
- King Hedley II
- Tonya, King Hedley II's wife
- Ruby, King Hedley II's mother
- Elmore, a southern hustler (and former boyfriend of Ruby)
- Mister, friend
- Stool Pigeon, a wise man and a prophet
Notes on characters
King Hedley II draws "on characters established in Seven Guitars, King Hedley II shows the shadows of the past reaching into the present."[3] Some of the characters presented earlier include King Hedley II, "the spiritual son of King Hedley from Seven Guitars and Stool Pigeon, a "sixty-five year old harmonica player...now a newspaper-collecting history carrier".[4] The character of Ruby was a "vivacious young newcomer to Pittsburgh" in Seven Guitars but in King Hedley II is "...overcome with worry and regret...". Mister is Red Carter's son.[5]
Awards and nominations
- 2001 Broadway
- Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2000 finalist)
- Tony Awardfor Best Play (nomination)
- Tony Award, Best Actor in a Play (Brian Stokes Mitchell) (nomination)
- Tony Award, Best Actress in a Play (Leslie Uggams) (nomination)
- Tony Award, Best Featured Actor in a Play (Charles Brown)(nomination)
- Tony Award, Best Featured Actress in a Play, (Viola Davis) (WINNER)
- Tony Award, Best Direction of a Play (Marion McClinton) (nomination)
- Drama Desk Award for Best Play (nomination)
- Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play (Mitchell) (nomination)
- Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play (Brown) (nomination)
- Drama Desk Award Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (Davis) (WINNER)
- Drama Desk Award Outstanding Set Design of a Play (David Gallo) (nomination)
- 2007 Off-Broadway
- Audelco Award Dramatic Production of the Year (nomination)
- Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Revival (nomination)
Notes
- ^ Finkle, David."Acting 'King Hedley II': 'It Just Makes You Soar'"The New York Times, June 3, 2001.
- ^ Isherwood, Charles."At War With Ghosts and History"The New York Times, March 12, 2007.
- ^ "Overview". samuelfrench.com. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ^ " King Hedley II, 2000" huntingtontheatre.org, accessed March 2, 2019
- ^ Maley, Patrick (November 26, 2018). "'King Hedley II' is a dark play handled with care in Red Bank: review". nj.com.
References
- Wilson, August (2005). King Hedley II (First ed.). New York: Theatre Communications Group. ISBN 1-55936-261-8.