August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-nominated Two Trains Running arrives at the Matrix just in time for Black History Month in as powerfully staged and performed a production as any theatergoer, regardless of color, could possibly wish for.

The times may be a-changing in 1969 Pittsburgh, but you’d hardly know it at Memphis Lee’s diner, an eating establishment where the more things change, the more they remain the same.

 Having seen his once flourishing business fall victim to urban renewal, Memphis (Montae Russell, commanding the stage in a performance fueled by anger and frustration) now faces the likely need to sell it to white developers for a fraction of its value, a reminder of the racial exploitation that cost him his Jackson, Mississippi farm back in 1931 and sent him up north in search of a better life.

Fresh out of the penitentiary and hoping to restart his own life, Sterling (Dorian Missick, as dynamic and compelling as he is appealing) finds himself offered only the most menial of jobs, not that the diner’s self-mutilated but still beautiful waitress Risa (Nija Okoro, a pitch-perfect mix of longing and rage) seems likely to make Sterling’s love life any more successful than his job search.

 Flashy dresser Wolf (Terrell Tilford, deliciously slimy) may be doing relatively well for himself, but running illegal numbers often means informing betters that their prize money has been cut in half, making middle-man Wolf as much a victim of exploitation as the intellectually disabled Hambone (Ellis E. William, heartbreaking), years ago denied full payment for a job well done and suffering ever since.

 West (Alex Morris, in a powerhouse turn recalling his Joe Keller in the Matrix’s All My Sons), may have found success as the neighborhood mortician, but making it financially in 1969 Pittsburgh means exploiting the misfortunes of fellow blacks like Memphis, whose business he’s more than willing to purchase at a price far less than what the diner owner is demanding.

 Last but not least, there’s no one more familiar with injustice than Holloway (Adolphus Ward, magnificent as always), the grandson of slaves, and as the diner’s oldest regular, the one most suited to offer advice to its less seasoned customers.

Talked about but not seen are the recently deceased Prophet Samuel, whose teachings Risa follows religiously; Lutz, the Caucasian meat market owner who nine years ago paid Hambone a chicken rather than the ham he’d been promised for a job well done; and (most significantly) the purportedly 349-year-old Aunt Ester, whose wisdom once helped Holloway transform his life and who might just do the same to Memphis and Sterling if they are willing to listen.

 Not much happens over the course of Two Trains Running’s three-hour running time. Playwright Wilson simply lets his characters converse and tell their stories, and in so doing invests audiences in their lives, in particular in Memphis’s fight to be paid what is rightfully his due and in Sterling’s somewhat shaky efforts at remaking his life out of the slammer.

Despite occasional moments during which you may find yourself wishing the late great Wilson had done some trimming, Two Trains Running offers almost as many laughs as there is dramatic conflict under Michele Shay’s incisive direction.

 There can be no nitpicking whatsoever about John Iacovelli’s impeccably detailed diner set (kudos too to props masters Ina Shumaker and Bruce Dickinson), Brian Gale’s subtly effective lighting, Mylette Nora’s period-perfect costumes (Crystal Williams is wardrobe supervisor) and Shelia Dorn’s fine wig and makeup designs, and Jeff Gardner’s terrific R-&-B-fueled soundtrack.

Cortney Wright is assistant director. Martin Kildare is dramaturg. Ed DeShae is production stage manager and Camella Cooper is assistant stage manager. Dana Hunt is assistant producer. Erica Forst is production coordinator.

Jon Chaffin is Sterling and Wolf standby. Lee Stansberry and Wright are understudies.

August Wilson’s King Headly II, producer Sophina Brown’s first Wilson outing, scored two 2018 Ovation Award wins including one for Adolphus Ward. Two Trains Running, the second of what Brown promises to be Wilson’s entire ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle, seems destined for even more much-deserved acclaim.

Matrix Theatre, 7657 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles.
augustwilsonstwotrainsrunning.eventbrite.com

–Steven Stanley
February 2, 2019
Photos: Tiffany Judkins

Tags: August Wilson, Los Angeles Theater Review, Matrix Theatre, Sophina Brown