By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
The renowned play “Seven Guitars” is set to open at Spotlighters Theatre on Jan. 9, transporting Baltimore audiences to the backyard of a Pittsburgh boardinghouse in the 1940s, where the echoes of blues, neglected dreams and laughter come together.
The play’s cycle is expected to run at Spotlighters Theatre in Central Baltimore from Jan. 9 to Feb. 1. This will be the first showing of the play in 2026. One of the last runs of this play in the Baltimore area was by the AngelWing Project at the Chesapeake Arts Center in October 2023.
The sold‑out show, written by August Wilson and directed by Benjamin Isaiah Black, is a powerful and poetic piece that takes place through flashbacks around the funeral of an aspiring blues musician, revealing the lives of seven African‑American characters wrestling with hope, loss and the search for meaning amid post‑World War II poverty.
“This play is about a man who has dreams in a time where dreams were hard to have for people, especially Black people, but he’s trying to find a way to make it work,” said Steven Forrester, 20, who plays Canewell in this production. “In his corner, he has friends, a lover, and people who are there to just have conversation and understand his predicament. When watching it, I would say keep in mind that everyone has gone through the experience of pursuing a dream, but every dream isn’t accomplishable. That’s just life. That’s what this play is: just life.”
This current adaptation is part of a larger effort by 10 Baltimore theater companies to celebrate Wilson’s American Century Cycle over three years, starting in 2024 with a showing of “Gem of the Ocean” at the Arena Players. The series will continue to run at the different theaters across the city, in chronological order.
Wilson, who was born April 27, 1945, and died Oct. 2, 2005, wrote several acclaimed plays as part of his American Century Cycle, set in different decades of the 20th century and centered on African‑American life. “Seven Guitars” is a part of the series. He received Pulitzer Prizes for “Fences,” set in the 1950s, and “The Piano Lesson,” set in the 1930s.
Wilson spent most of his childhood in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, a vibrant but poor neighborhood that became the background for several of his plays. With a White father and Black mother, he grew up with a complex sense of race, which also features in his works.
After quitting school at 15 over a plagiarism accusation, he returned from a mostly White suburb and educated himself through public libraries while learning from his community. He went on to write poetry that was published in journals such as “Black World” in 1971 and “Black Lines” in 1972. His iconic plays include “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” one of his first major plays, which was eventually adapted into a movie.
Wilson’s work has received a range of accolades, including seven New York Drama Critics Awards for Best Play. Wilson also received the 1986 Whiting Award for Drama.
Black discussed his affinity for Wilson’s work, his experience with the production and the specific creative vision he brought to the stage.
“One of the things that I love about August Wilson’s writing is that the story and characters feel so natural,” said Black. “Nothing is exaggerated for the medium of theatre. The weight and depth found in the story, characters, time period and themes are enough to carry the show.”
Due to this, Black chose to keep the theatrical elements of the show, such as the set, lights, costumes, props and sound, to be simple. Wanting them to add to the show, and not distract.
Those choices must be paying off, as the show has already received a few rave reviews, and has received positive reactions from the audience, according to Black.
“I was in the audience during our final dress rehearsal, in which we invited people to come see it, and the opening night,” he said. “From what I was able to observe, the crowd was greatly invested. I could tell it resonated with them. I’ll be attending some other shows, and I can’t wait to see other people’s reaction to it as well.”
Destiny Jennings, 23, reflected on what playing the role of Ruby in the play and being a part of this production means to her.
“Ruby is kind of like a vixen,” said Jennings. “She gets a lot of male attention and she kind of uses that for her gain. Her willingness to show her imperfections is something that I resonate with. She’s such a big dreamer and she wants to be somebody. She wants to be loved, she wants to be known. She doesn’t want to be forgotten. That’s something that I also resonate with.”
Jennings said being a part of this production and being able to bring the work that Wilson wrote to life is something she does not take lightly.
As Baltimore’s city-wide celebration of Wilson continues, residents will have the opportunity to see the rest of his illustrious plays, right here in Charm City.
The next installment of this series will continue with August Wilson’s “Fences,” which will open on Feb. 6 and run until March 1, with previews on Feb. 4 and Feb. 5 at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in Baltimore.