August Wilson's Radio Golf

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

August Wilson's Radio Golf

Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy  /  1w, 4m

August Wilson

August Wilson’s Radio Golf is a fast-paced, dynamic and wonderfully funny work about the world today and the dreams we have for the future. Set in Pittsburgh in the late 1990s, it’s the story of a successful entrepreneur who aspires to become the city’s first Black mayor. But when the past begins to catch up with him, secrets get revealed that could be his undoing.

Image: 2018 Court Theatre Production (Michael Brosilow)

August Wilson's Radio Golf

Request licence
Get the Script
  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 4m
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult, Teen (Age 14-18)
Accolades
Accolades

  • Winner! 2007 New York Drama Critics Circle Award, Best Play
    Nominee: 2007 Tony Award, Best Play
    Nominee: 2007 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Play

    August Wilson is the recipient of the 1986 Whiting Award for Drama.

Details

Summary

August Wilson’s Radio Golf is a fast-paced, dynamic and wonderfully funny work about the world today and the dreams we have for the future. Set in Pittsburgh in the late 1990s, it’s the story of a successful entrepreneur who aspires to become the city’s first Black mayor. But when the past begins to catch up with him, secrets get revealed that could be his undoing.

The most contemporary of all of August Wilson’s work, Radio Golf is the final play in his unprecedented ten-play American Century Cycle – a series that includes the Pulitzer Prize-winning plays Fences and The Piano Lesson. Completed shortly after his death in 2005, this bittersweet drama of assimilation and alienation in 90s America traces the forces of change on a neighborhood and its people caught between history and the 21st century.

History
After premiering at the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, CT in April 2005, August Wilson’s Radio Golf opened on Broadway at the Cort Theatre on 8 May 2007. Directed by Kenny Leon, the production featured Anthony Chisholm, John Earl Jelks, Harry Lennix, Tonya Pinkins and James A. Williams.
Keywords
Performing Groups
ELDER JOSEPH BARLOW
STERLING JOHNSON
HARMOND WILKS
MAME WILKS
ROOSEVELT HICKS
  • Time Period 1990s
  • Setting The office of Bedford Hills Redevelopment in The Hill District of Pittsburgh, PA. 1997.
  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Cautions
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

“Surprising, suspenseful, and crowd-rousing... crackling comedy, engaging snap, and theatrical zest.” – The New York Times

“Gorgeous writing with a big heart! Not only is this Wilson's most contemporary work. It is also his most accessible and most unambiguously political - an urgent call to remember what the 20th century has done to these people and its community.” – Newsday

“The dialogue crackles with the poetry and fierce conscience that made Wilson one of this country's most essential artists!” – USA Today

“Surprising, suspenseful, and crowd-rousing. The final play in August Wilson's magnificent cycle has crackling comedy, engaging snap, and theatrical zest. In Mr. Wilson's world, the song, it seems, hasn't ended after all.” – The New York Times

“It's hard not to feel the tug of emotion as the curtain rises on Radio Golf, the final play in August Wilson's astounding 10-play cycle. It may be the clearest and most accessible of the lot, and the most rewarding. Watching, one ponders who will fill Wilson's shoes - will anybody be so fearless and unflinching about the realities of black life in America? One doubts it.” – The Journal News

“Radio Golf brings the titanic undertaking of a great playwright to a conclusion, with some of Wilson's characteristically vibrant arias.” – Variety

“Radio Golf brings Wilson's amazing 10-play journey to an emotional, hopeful conclusion. The play's prime speeches are classic examples of Wilson's expansive, lyrical, and frequently very funny style.” – Associated Press

“With wit and soul, Radio Golf brings to a close the most ambitious theatrical undertaking in the history of American theater.” – New York Sun

“Capping a monumental achievement by one of America's most insightful playwrights, Radio Golf is a swift, engrossing drama brimming with Wilson's characteristic wisdom and humor.” – The Star-Ledger

“The culmination of one of the great achievements in the history of American theater. Extremely funny, with wonderful characters and pungent dialogue. Radio Golf is a fitting conclusion to Wilson's master plan, a work that clearly, passionately and wisely states the author's themes.” – The Record

Photos

  • August Wilson's Radio Golf

    Image: 2018 Court Theatre Production (Michael Brosilow)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £70 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:
Get the Script

Add-Ons

Take a look below at how you can enhance your show!

Authors

August Wilson

August Wilson

August Wilson (April 27, 1945 - October 2, 2005) authored Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II and Radio Golf. These works explore the heritage and experienc ...

View full profile

Now Playing