Playwright August Wilson (1945 – 2005) wrote about the complexity of the African-American experience, of undocumented lives, and of the people he grew up with in the The Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ten of his plays comprise a deliberate body of work unto itself: “The Pittsburgh Cycle,” also known as the “Century Cycle.”

Each of the plays are set in a different decade of the 20th century, representative of their time from which the past insists on being acknowledged and taken into account.

Plays in “The Pittsburgh Cycle,” interestingly enough, were not written in chronological order, include:

‘Gem of the Ocean’ (Set in 1904; Premiered in 2003)

‘Joe Turner’s Come and Gone’ (Set in 1911; Premiered in 1984)

‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ (Set in 1927; Premiered in 1984)

‘The Piano Lesson’ (Set in 1936; Premiered in 1990)

‘Seven Guitars’ (Set in 1948; Premiered in 1995)

‘Fences’ (Set in 1957; Premiered in 1987)

‘Two Trains Running’ (Set in 1969; Premiered in 1991)

‘Jitney’ (Set in 1977; Premiered in 1982)

‘King Hedley II’ (Set in 1985; Premiered in 1999)

‘Radio Golf’ (Set in 1990; Premiered in 2005)