UNCSA to present Wilson classic
The School of Drama and the School of Design & Production at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts will present “King Hedley II,” the ninth play in August Wilson’s 10-part The Pittsburgh Cycle series detailing the black experience in America.
The play is directed by distinguished guest artist Tim Douglas and performed by members of the School of Drama’s Studio 4.
Tim Douglas
The play ran on Broadway in 2001 and was revived Off-Broadway in 2007. It was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 2000 and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play. The play premiered at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre in 1999 and played a number of other regional theaters before its Broadway engagement.
Set in the 1980s, “King Hedley II” follows an ex-convict who is working to rebuild his life in the slums of Pittsburgh. With a seemingly dead-end future where he cannot provide for his unborn child or family and friends, he fights for his chance to own his own company and make something of himself while struggling with the restraints of poverty, crime and discrimination.
Douglas has 30 years of experience as a theatre leader, stage director, actor and educator. He has directed nationally and internationally, and counts among his credits the world premiere of August Wilson’s “Radio Golf” for Yale Rep, his critically acclaimed Caribbean-inspired “Much Ado About Nothing” for the Folger Shakespeare Theatre and the premiere of a new translation/adaptation of Ibsen’s “Rosmbersholm” off-Broadway. He recently directed an African-American cast in Horton Foote’s “The Trip to Bountiful” at Round House Theatre in Washington, D.C.
As an actor he has appeared regionally, Off-Broadway and on television. He is a graduate of Marymount Manhattan College and Yale School of Drama.
Performances run from Oct. 23–26 at 7:30 p.m. There will be 2 p.m. performances on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27. All performances will be in the Patrons Theatre in Performance Place on the UNC School of the Arts campus, 1533 S. Main St.
Tickets are $15 or $13 for students. Call the UNCSA Box Office at 336-721-1945 for reservations, or visit www.uncsa.edu/performances to purchase tickets online.
