When playwright August Wilson died in October 2005, he left a literary legacy that includes a celebrated cycle of 10 plays, of which two—Fences and The Piano Lesson—won the Pulitzer Prize. The second play in this cycle, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, will be presented as the capstone of the 2006–2007 University Theatre season.
Joe Turner’s Come and Gone will open in the Fine Arts Theatre April 12 at 8 p.m. It will run April 13–14, 18–21 at 8 p.m. and April 22 at 2:30 p.m. Regular admission is $12; tickets for UGA students and senior citizens with ID are $10. Tickets may be purchased at the University Theatre box office in the lobby of the Fine Arts Building. The box office is open noon–5 p.m. weekdays. Tickets also will sold at the theatre door one hour before show time. Reservations may be made in advance by calling (706) 542-2838.
Set in 1911, less than 50 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, Joe Turner captures a group of wayfarers who have stopped at Seth and Bertha Holly’s boarding house. Each has a uniquely individual story based in a universal need for self-definition, human connection and companionship. One especially wounded and damaged person, Herald Loomis, is the catalyst for a series of events that brings disruption to Seth and Bertha’s house, but ultimately leads to fresh starts and second chances for the inhabitants.
Considered one of the greatest American playwrights, Wilson died of cancer just after finishing Radio Golf, the final play in the cycle.
