King Hedley II

(Photo credit to Ashley Smith, Wide Eyed Studios.)

August Wilson has been a name in the theatre world for a very long time.  His works have been performed countless times over the years, as they span such a time frame and they can completely do this.  From 1976 through 2005, Wilson’s repertoire has proven his skills as a writer.  His work flows and can be presented so many different ways.  The fact that he lived and wrote through so many decades just shows that he is, as my mother would say, the modern Shakespeare.  And honestly, I think this is a very fair moniker.  If you get to experience one of his shows, it’s clear that what he can do is very unique.

Having lived most of my life in the theatre world, I’ve experienced quite a few August Wilson shows.  I’ve studied his work in theatre classes and seen his shows onstage.  I think most people who have lived their lives in the theatre world have experienced him in one way or another.  What he did, and continues to do, for Black theatre is absolutely awe inspiring.  He really gives us a window into a world that a lot of us wouldn’t know any other way, especially looking at stuff like the Pittsburgh Cycle, a series of plays set in the same area and focusing on life there.

I think August Wilson is getting a little more well known, though.  When the movie of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was released in 2020 with an all star cast (Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, Colman Domingo), I think a big part of the world saw something they had never seen before.  And though I’m sure most of them didn’t realize they were seeing an August Wilson show, it brought the writer into a light that he had probably never been in before.  And it was amazing, because the man was a genius.

Now, I can’t pretend I’m an expert or anything, but like I said, I’ve had a good amount of exposure to Wilson and his work.  And I don’t think I will ever tire of what he has to offer.  I was super excited to hear that The Arden Theatre was doing King Hedley II, a Wilson play I knew of but had never gotten to see.  Going in, I thought I was prepared.  I know how August Wilson plays can get.  They’re not necessarily easy to swallow.  Themes and characters aren’t clear cut.  You may think you know a character, and you really don’t.  That sort of thing.  So obviously, I was excited.

King Hedley II is just as rough as it is beautiful.  The language is absolutely stunning.  The characters are presented from many different perspectives.  The storytelling is jarring.  And the cast in this production took the challenge on so well.  I loved how we learned about these characters through their stories (something I’ve always thought August Wilson was a master at).  And we see so many sides to everyone and the stories we experience.  No one is faultless, though some characters have more integrity than others.  And everyone has a reason for doing what they do…at least, they think they do.

I have to admit, I love shows with smaller casts.  King Hedley II only has six characters, and that is definitely all that’s needed for this story.  And I was totally blown away by all of them.  The way they worked together was beautiful.  This intimate cast really brought so much to the table.  They were so much their own characters, but also so much supporting each other.  Seeing their interactions with each other was so inspiring, because they did it so seamlessly.  Each character brought something to the table, and were complimented by all the others.  The ensemble look we got was so well done.

Everything about this show was so well thought out.  It was a simple set, but also had beautiful details.  Stool Pigeon, the “crazy” character was known for hoarding newspapers…if you looked through the door of his house, you could see that there was newspaper papering the walls and stacks of magazines and newspapers.  It was something you could only see from a specific vantage point, but they put it in there anyway.  The mound of dirt that took up part of the floor was featured center stage.  Everything was done with such detail, and it was truly a work of art.

Going back to the idea of August Wilson being a modern day Shakespeare, King Hedley II definitely had the taste of a Shakespearean tragedy.  From start to end, it had so many of those elements…especially the ending (I promise I won’t give that one away!)  I think I spent most of the performance barely blinking, because I didn’t want to miss a thing.  There is not a single thing I would change about this performance.  They really nailed it.

I do wish I had gotten to see King Hedley II earlier in the run, but I am glad I got to see it at all.  There was just something so wonderfully enticing about the whole thing.  I wouldn’t have traded my experience for anything.