Skip to main content Skip to footer site map

August Wilson’s Timeless Work

Before you watch videos on this webpage, please take a moment to review and respond below:

By clicking “Accept,” you agree that WNET and its affiliates (“The WNET Group”) can share your video viewing activity with third parties as set out in our Privacy Policy in order to facilitate use of our sites and enrich your online experience. Your consent to such sharing is valid for two years or until you withdraw your consent by removing the associated browser cookie. To learn more about how we use cookies on our sites and how to revise your cookie settings, please visit the “Cookies” section of our Privacy Policy. If you click “Decline,” we will not share your individual viewing activity, but may still share aggregated and/or anonymized viewing activity in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

SHARE

Tony-award winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson, now directing the Broadway premiere of August Wilson’s Jitney, shares why Wilson’s work is so timeless and universal.

TRANSCRIPT

August Wilson's work will always speak to the Black community, African-American community, American community, today and always, because many of the problems that existed in the earlier plays continue to exist today. Not only that, it brings us closer - people who have not been privy to a certain culture which is my culture, African American culture - they get a chance to sit in the same room and breathe the same air, let our hearts beat together and find out that we are the same. We're just human beings and we want the same things.

© 2025 WNET. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PBS is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization.