August Wilson was an American playwright of towering significance whose ten-play Century Cycle stands as one of the most ambitious artistic achievements in American theatre, a sweeping chronicle of African American life across the twentieth century.
Defining moments and milestones
August Wilson's career began in the 1970s as a poet and community activist before he turned decisively to drama in the early 1980s, achieving breakthrough recognition with Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (1984), which transferred from Yale Repertory Theatre to Broadway and announced the arrival of a major American voice. Over the next two decades, he methodically realized his visionary Century Cycle, each play receiving major productions at regional theatres and Broadway, establishing himself as the pre-eminent chronicler of African American experience and one of the most important playwrights of his generation. His legacy—cemented by two Pulitzer Prizes, eight Tony nominations, and a body of work that permanently expanded the scope and ambition of American theatre—continues to shape how the nation's stories are told on stage.
Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Fences (1987)
University of Pittsburgh
A chronological journey through key moments
Recordings featuring August Wilson in the Society index
Additional recordings will appear here as the catalog expands.