Already familiar with the language spoken by the residents of Pittsburgh’s Hill District circa 1968 “” at least as spoken in the vernacular given them by the late, great African-American playwright August Wilson “” one must report that it is rife with the “N” word.
This fact, coming so close on the heels of the Don Imus language debacle, makes one long inured to the language suddenly uncomfortable and perhaps ultra-sensitive for the first time.
Perhaps recent events account for opening night’s nervous and seemingly inappropriate laughter during Seret Scott’s staging of Wilson’s “Two Trains Running.”
Surely it was not Wilson’s or Scott’s intent to stereotype these urban African-Americans as they wrestle with the triple-whammy of discrimination, poverty and urban renewal.
“Two Trains Running” is part of Wilson’s monumental 10-play survey of the experience of African-Americans in the 20th century.
The plays are set mostly in the Hill District, where Wilson was raised. Directed by Wilson mentor Lloyd Richards of Yale Repertory, “Two Trains” played at the Old Globe in 1991 prior to its Broadway run.
Wolf (Montae Russell) is a numbers runner (“It’s the same thing as putting money in the bank”) who hangs out at Lee’s Diner, where he uses the pay phone for “business.” Lee’s is owned by Memphis (the extraordinary, larger-than-life Chuck Cooper), a disenfranchised southerner who moved north in 1936.
Once, the diner was a bustling place that went through numerous crates of chicken on a weekend. Now, the menu is mostly a mirage of “we don’t have any” items, hung over the pass-through to the kitchen.
That hub is presided over by a self-mutilated, slow-footed cook/waitress named Risa (Roslyn Ruff in a marvelous, understated performance), who disdains men.
Risa especially disdains the attentions of an unemployed, recently released convict named Sterling (Edi Gathegi).
Other denizens of the café include the wealthy and conniving West (Al White), who runs the local mortuary.
Smelling a quick profit, he offers Memphis cash money for the soon-to-be-razed café; Memphis holds out for a fair settlement from the city. The philosophic Holloway (James Avery, remembered from TV’s “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”) observes all from his wheelchair. A deranged handyman named Hambone is also a daily visitor, whom the good-hearted Risa feeds.
Nearly a decade ago, he was pushed over the edge when he painted the fence at the local butcher shop and in payment was given a chicken instead of the promised ham.
Other than Hambone, whose vocabulary is limited to “I want my ham,” Wilson gives each character a kind of “aria,” and viewers collect the pieces of each complex character to gain greater understanding of what made them who they are.
Unseen, though presiding over all, is Wilson’s ongoing character, Aunt Ester, a 325-year-old seer who changes people’s lives while asking no other fee than a $20 bill thrown into the river.
Those who can least afford it comply (and play the numbers and take desperate risks). Perhaps that’s what this play is all about and why Wilson’s voice is so important, which brings us back to language. Let us hope that our society, in its misguided efforts to censor free speech, keeps its hands off the playwrights. Wilson watered down would not be truth. The debate rages on.
“Two Trains Running” continues through May 27 in the Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park. For tickets ($19-$62) and information, visit www.theoldglobe.org or call (619) 23-GLOBE.
