Jitney on Broadway: Show Is Now Closed

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Jitney Summary

  • Show Status: Closed
  • Genre: Play - Revival
  • Jitney is 2.5 Hours long, including an intermission of 15 Minutes
  • 8 Shows per week
  • Previews Began: December 28, 2016
  • Show Opened : January 19, 2017
  • Show Closed: March 12, 2017

Jitney is the eighth play in August Wilson’s 10-play “Pittsburgh Cycle,” which also includes such works as Fences, Radio Golf, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Seven Guitars, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and Two Trains Running. Each of these plays is set in Pittsburgh over one specific decade of the twentieth century, telling a story about the African American experience at that time. Jitney is set in the 1970s, and the setting is a worn-down gypsy cab station.

What's Jitney Like?

August Wilson is a brilliant playwright, one of the greatest American writers of the twentieth century. The last production of one of his works to play on Broadway was Fences (2010), starring Denzel Washington. Previously, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone played in 2009, and Radio Golf played in 2007. Jitney is the only one of these ten plays that has never before played on Broadway – until now. His works have won countless awards, including a Tony Award for Fences, and a Pulitzer Prize for both Fences and The Piano Lesson. This production of Jitney is directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, whose previous Broadway credits include Stick Fly, Gem of the Ocean, Seven Guitars, and Jelly’s Last Jam. As the third Broadway production of an August Wilson play directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, this is an unmissable show.

Is Jitney Good for Kids?

This show is most appropriate for those over the age of 10. Children under the age of 4 will not be permitted in the theatre.

Jitney on Broadway Background

This production of Jitney is historic, as it is the first time this play has had a Broadway run, and it is also the last of August Wilson’s “Pittsburgh Cycle” to do so.

The first time a play by August Wilson was produced on Broadway was the 1984 production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. The world premiere of Jitney took place in 1982 in a small theatre in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, followed by a larger scale premiere in 1996. Over the next four years, there were 20 productions of the play across the nation, while Wilson continued to refine the writing. The New York premiere took place in 2000 at the Off-Broadway Second Stage Theatre, followed by a run at the Union Square Theater. In fall 2001, the play had a run at London’s National Theatre, Lyttelton Theatre, and won the Olivier Award for Best Play. Now for the first time, the play is premiering on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in a Manhattan Theatre Club production.

Theatre Information

Samuel J Friedman Theatre

261 West 47th Street
New York, NY 10019
Seats: 650
Entrance: 47th Street between 8th Avenue and Broadway
Theatre Information

Samuel J Friedman Theatre Seating Chart

Cast Members

Shealy
Harvy Blanks
Turnbo
Michael Potts
Philmore
Ray Anthony Thomas
Youngblood
Andre Holland
Booster
Brandon J. Dirden
Rena
Carra Patterson
Doub
Keith Randolph Smith
Becker
John Douglas Thompson
Fielding
Anthony Chisholm

Producers

Manhattan Theatre Club

Production Credits

Direction
Ruben Santiago-Hudson
Author
August Wilson
Set Design
David Gallo
Costume Design
Toni-Leslie James
Lighting
Jane Cox
Original Music
Bill Sims Jr
Sounds
Darron L. West
Production Stage Manager
James Latus

Creative Team

Press Representative
Boneau Bryan-Brown
General Manager
Florie Seery at Manhattan Theatre Club
Company Manager
Erin Moeller at Manhattan Theatre Club
Casting Director
Nancy Piccione at Manhattahn Theatre Club + David Caparelliotis at Caparelliotis Casting
Advertising Representative
SPOTCo