Stage Review: August Wilson's 'Trains' offers eulogy for community at Hattiloo

For most of his career, August Wilson focused his plays on Pittsburgh's Hill District, a predominantly black neighborhood that saw its once-good prospects fade into poverty and blight. Wilson sees the community as a microcosm of America, where many African-Americans have an almost-daily struggle with the impact of history.

Hattiloo Theatre executive producer Ekundayo Bandele is determined to stage all 10 of the playwright's works, each set in a different decade of the 20th century.

"Two Trains Running," set in 1969, is among Wilson's more humorous portraits of the community, and one thing that stood out at last weekend's opening at Hattiloo was the casual ease among the characters.

Their half-kidding banter is essentially the plot, and if "Two Trains Running" occasionally seems to be stuck in time, that's sort of the point.

The owner of a rundown diner, Memphis (played by Stephen Dowdy) refuses to be lowballed by the city, which plans to buy him out and tear down his property in the name of urban renewal. Memphis is just barely in business, and frequently out of menu items. But the diner attracts some colorful characters on society's fringe.

Tony Wright's West is a curt undertaker to whom dead people are little more than a paycheck. He's buying up property ahead of the city so he can leverage a better deal. The neighborhood itself is a corpse, and West is out to profit from its funeral.

But others, like Holloway (Tony Anderson), know the special qualities of the neighborhood. He advises struggling newcomers like the ex-con Sterling (played by Jose C. Joiner) to visit Aunt Ester, a spiritual adviser. Meanwhile, Wolf (Bertram "BJ" Williams Jr.) uses the diner's pay phone to run numbers. Though Memphis frowns on the activity, he's also one of Wolf's customers.

The shy waitress, Risa (Brooke Sarden), has scarred her legs to make herself less attractive. Her beauty, like the neighborhood itself, is inside, and it takes a special person to appreciate it.

"Two Trains Running" is Wilson's eulogy for almost any misunderstood community in America. Massive gentrification really happened in Pittsburgh, and it has happened in Memphis. Bulldozers frequently tear down what has little economic value to predominantly white business people.

But Wilson's characters have long memories, as do his plays. Earlier this season, Playhouse on the Square staged Wilson's "Gem of the Ocean," set in 1904. Aunt Ester is in that play as well, healing people from the memories of slavery. In "Two Trains Running," her offstage presence is still felt.

There are technical problems in the production. Bandele insists on using overhead lighting each time a character shares a memory. It looks more like aliens beaming down to visit. There are also pacing issues. Scenes often don't rise and fall at the right moments.

All told, "Two Trains Running" is a compelling story about folks who are all in the same boat together -- a boat lost in uncharted waters.

'Two Trains Running'

Performances continue at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 26 at Hattiloo Theatre, 656 Marshall Ave. Tickets are $10-$25. Call (901) 525-0009.

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