Jitney Revival 2017
Run Time:
Two hours and 25 minutes, with one intermission
Opened: January 19, 2017Two hours and 25 minutes, with one intermission
Closing: March 12, 2017
Jitney - 2017 Broadway History , Info & More
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (Broadway)
261 W. 47th St. New York, NY 10036
Only one of the plays in two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson's masterful The American Century Cycle has never been seen on Broadway- until now. Set in the early 1970s, this richly textured piece follows a group of men trying to eke out a living by driving unlicensed cabs, or jitneys. When the city threatens to board up the business and the boss' son returns from prison, tempers flare, potent secrets are revealed and the fragile threads binding these people together may come undone at last.
MTC has a long history of co-producing works by this legendary playwright: King Hedley II, Seven Guitars and The Piano Lesson, and is proud to produce this Broadway debut. Directing is Ruben Santiago-Hudson, one of Wilson's finest interpreters.
Jitney - 2017 - Broadway Cast
PREVIEW Jitney - 2017 - Broadway
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FEATURED REVIEWS FOR Jitney
‘Jitney’ review: August Wilson’s play soars in Broadway debut
10 / 10
Talk about perfect timing: Immediately following the premiere of the critically acclaimed film version of August Wilson's 'Fences,' 'Jitney,' one of Wilson's lesser-known plays, is receiving its Broadway premiere in a focused and penetrating production directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson and featuring an outstanding ensemble cast.
Theater Review: Jitney, or How August Wilson Learned to Drive
8 / 10
Ruben Santiago-Hudson's staging, on a terrific David Gallo set that makes the hill in the Hill District palpable, tries to honor both, but is limited by the patchwork text. We certainly get the great Wilsonian flow of men's voices as they spool out their rough poetry of survival, and the delight of characters who are real characters. Some are familiar types from the rest of the cycle: There's dignified Becker, who runs the off-the-books jitney service; troublemaking Turnbo, the yakker with his nose in everyone's business; Youngblood, the struggling 20-something trying to do right by his girlfriend and their child; and Fielding, the dipso-sage with unexpected seams of experience and expertise. (He was once a tailor for Billy Eckstine.) Wilson orchestrates their voices with jazzlike felicity, abetted perhaps a bit too glibly by the setting; every time the phone rings with a customer needing a ride home from the grocery store, the kaleidoscope of characters reconfigures. Somehow the phone never rings in the middle of big speeches.
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Jitney History
Other Productions of Jitney
| 2000 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
| 2000 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
| 2017 | Broadway |
Manhattan Theatre Club Original Broadway Production Broadway |
| 2019 | US Tour |
National Tour US Tour |
Jitney - 2017 Broadway Awards and Nominations
Note: Award winners will appear on a background
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Play | John Douglas Thompson |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Costume Design for a Play | Toni-Leslie James |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Ruben Santiago-Hudson |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Music in a Play | Bill Sims Jr. |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | Jitney |
| 2017 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Set Design for a Play | David Gallo |
| 2017 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | John Douglas Thompson |
| 2017 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | Jitney |
| 2017 | New York Drama Critics Circle Awards | Special Citation | Ruben Santiago-Hudson |
| 2017 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Jitney |
| 2017 | Tony Awards | Best Costume Design of a Play | Toni-Leslie James |
| 2017 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Ruben Santiago-Hudson |
| 2017 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Jane Cox |
| 2017 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | John Douglas Thompson |
| 2017 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | August Wilson's Jitney |
| 2017 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | David Gallo |
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