The Theatre of August Wilson (Paperback)

Acknowledgments viii Introduction 1 1 Becoming August Wilson 3 2 History and/as Performance: The Drama of African American Historiography 17 3 Cutting the Historical Record, Recording the Blues: Ma Rainey's Black Bottom 37 4 Beginning Again, Again: Gem of the Ocean and Jitney 51 5 The Boundaries of Property and the Properties of Humanity: Fences and Joe Turner's Come and Gone 67 6 The Properties of the Piano and the Legacy of Human Property: The Piano Lesson 87 7 Urban Renewal by Any Means Necessary: Two Trains Running 109 8 "Sad Stories of the Death of Kings": Seven Guitars and King Hedley II 127 9 The Century That Can't Fix Nothing with the Law: Radio Golf 139 10 Critical and Performance Perspectives 159 Seven Guitars and King Hedley II: August Wilson's Lazarus Complex Donald E. Pease 159 Performance Politics and Authenticity: Joe Turner's Come and Gone and Jitney Harry J. Elam, Jr. 179 Notes 199 References 211 Notes on Contributors 215 Index 216