"Joe Turner's Come and Gone" is at the Goodman Theatre and 2's Got Your Ticket
CHICAGO (CBS) — This weekend, you still have to catch an American classic by August Wilson at the Goodman Theater.
"Joe Turner's Come and Gone" is at the Goodman Theatre, and 2's Got Your Ticket with the production's director.
The late playwright August Wilson won two Pulitzer Prizes. On stage at the Goodman is Wilson's favorite play: "Joe Turner's Come and Gone."
The character-rich production addresses themes of redemption, with Herald Loomis searching the country with his daughter, looking for his estranged wife.
It's the second of Wilson's 10-play Century Cycle, where he explores the nation's African American experience.
"Joe Turner's Come and Gone" is set in a boarding house during the Great Migration of southern Blacks to larger northern cities.
CBS 2 spoke with Chuch Smith, regarded as one of the nation's leading interpreters of Wilson's work.
"August Wilson was probably the most regular guy you could ever want to meet. I got a wonderful opportunity to work directly with him in 1997 during the Goodman's production of "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." For about 10 whole days I had August Wilson all to myself. Probably one of those experiences that I'll never forget," Smith said.
How do his works give us a better understanding of the American experience?
"August's works are about regular human beings. There's not many characters that August Wilson has put together in his 10-play cycle that I can't say that I don't have any idea of who this person is or what this person is like," Smith said. "What we find out is, regardless of race or culture, we have an ability to identify with these people. And that's what makes it universal. Kind of like August himself. Just a regular, everyday guy who happens to be a really great writer."
"Joe Turner's Come and Gone" plays through May 19 at the Goodman Theatre.