written by august wilson
directed by delroy lindo
in association with lorraine hansberry theatre
main season | roda theatre
october 31–december 14, 2008
Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes,
including one 15 minute intermission
the play
Renowned actor Delroy Lindo returns to Berkeley Rep with the play that netted him a nomination for the Tony Award—but this time, he’s in the director’s chair. Following last year’s triumph with Tanya Barfield’s Blue Door, Lindo takes on August Wilson’s African-American epic, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Haunted by seven years on a chain gang, Herald Loomis appears in Pittsburgh to reunite his family. Surrounded by the vibrant tenants of a black boarding house, he fights for his soul and his song in the dawning days of a century without slavery.
the players
Delroy Lindo came to prominence with his Broadway performance in Master Harold…and the Boys, and he reinforced his reputation with major roles in films such as The Cider House Rules, Get Shorty and Malcolm X. In his third outing as a director, Lindo works on a bigger stage: Berkeley Rep’s state-of-the art Roda Theatre.
August Wilson’s countless accolades include two Pulitzer Prizes, the Tony Award for Best Play, two Drama Desk Awards, an Olivier Award and eight prizes for Best Play from the New York Drama Critics Circle—including one for Joe Turner’s.
Watch an interview with August Wilson at the Kennedy Center
(select “The Pittsburgh Cycle” to hear him talk about Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, and other productions in the series).
the buzz
“Powerful, joyously musical and chillingly visionary…How far we’ve come…The high of President-elect Barack Obama’s victory had gained deeper resonances from August Wilson’s dramatic depiction of the lives of African Americans just a few generations ago.”—San Francisco Chronicle
“Riveting…a full scale spiritual tsunami…Mysticism and pragmatism collide head-on across the dining room table of a small boarding house in the Pittsburgh Hills District of 1911…The play is beautifully produced [and] the acting is outstanding.”—Contra Costa Times
“A stirring revival of the playwright’s masterpiece…In the wake of Tuesday’s historic election, the plays of August Wilson sing with a renewed sense of urgency…The understated poetry of the play still fills us with truth and longing, the ache of the blues.”—San Jose Mercury News
“Joe Turner’s Come and Gone is an intoxicatingly hopeful blend of history, mystery, myth, ribald humor, music, dance, and enduring faith.”—Chicago Reader
“Wilson gives haunting voice to the souls of the American dispossessed…The clash between the American and the African shakes white and black theatergoers as violently as it has shaken the history we’ve all shared.”—New York Times
multimedia
Listen to Delroy discuss his history with Joe Turner‘s Come and Gone.
Press Photos
season sponsors
