Geva Presents August Wilson's Final Play, Radio Golf 3/22-4/17

When August Wilson died in 2005, America lost one of its most influential playwrights. Wilson's legacy - a cycle of ten plays encompassing the 20th Century, continues to captivate audiences around the world for its poeticism and beauty. Now, Rochester audiences will complete the journey of a century. Geva Theatre Center, concluding its five-year commitment to presenting all ten plays in "August Wilson's American Century," will produce the tenth and final play of the cycle, Radio Golf, beginning March 22 and running through April 17.

There's a new wave of Urban Renewal in Pittsburgh's Hill District in 1997 - this time by African American entrepreneurs. Who will win the struggle for the neighborhood's deep-rooted identity and soul? Money, politics, family and community collide in one man's quest to become the first black mayor of Pittsburgh.

Wilson's fast-paced, funny and riveting drama opened at Yale Repertory Theatre in 2005 and on Broadway at the Cort Theatre in 2007. Radio Golf won the 2007 NY Drama Critics Circle Award and went on to be nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play, the Drama Desk Award for Best Play and the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Play.

Geva Theatre Center is the only theatre in the country to have produced all ten of August Wilson's plays in decade order. In 2005, when Geva announced its commitment to producing all of Wilson's plays over a five-year period beginning with Gem of the Ocean, Artistic Director Mark Cuddy commented, "We've made this commitment, but we've made the commitment to him, to August Wilson. It's really about honoring the legacy of him and his work."

Since the spring of 2007, when Gem of the Ocean was produced in the Mainstage, Rochester audiences have been treated to a colorful tapestry of characters. "They're funny, passionate, spiritual," remarked Mark Cuddy. "They are very rich, and Wilson's language is quite poetic. The lyricism of his characters, their arias, is extraordinary. You can almost feast on the language."

The cast of Radio Golf features Richard Brooks (NBC's "Law & Order," "Firefly") as Harmond Wilks, CrystAl Fox (NBC's "In the Heat of the Night") as Mame Wilks, G. Valmont Thomas as Roosevelt Hicks, Leland Gantt as Sterling Johnson and Thomas Jefferson Byrd as Elder Joseph Barlow.

A co-production with Syracuse Stage, Radio Golf is directed by Timothy Bond. The design team includes William Bloodgood (Scenic Designer), Susan E. Mickey (Costume Designer), Thomas C. Hase (Lighting Designer), John Herter (sound design), Troy Martin O'Shia (Assistant Lighting Designer) and Ian Hildreth (Associate Sound Designer)

As an accompanying event, Geva will present a reading of King Hedley II, the ninth play in August Wilson's cycle, in the Mainstage on Monday, April 11 at 7:30pm. Tickets for this event are free but must be reserved in advance through the Box Office: (585) 232-Geva.

Radio Golf is co-produced by Bank of America, Eastman Kodak Company, The Pike Company and Madeline's Catering. The production is also supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.