Jitney

While reading this play I tried to give the characters different voices and appearances in my mind to try to imitate the live play experience. Wilson's plays give me a unique opportunity to assimilate the African-American culture that permeates the play.
The play is set in 1977 in a gypsy cab station otherwise known as a jitney. Youngblood and Rena are a young couple struggling to get along. Fielding, Turnbo and Doub are other jitney drivers who take calls in turn as the phone is answered, "Car Service". Shealy is a numbers taker who uses the phone in the station to run his business. The major drama takes place between Becker, the jitney owner, and his son Booster. I can't give it away but it is an emotionally powerful story drawn from show more the unique world of the African-American experience of that time.
All of the drivers are affected by news that the city is going to board up the building in two weeks for urban development. Their station is surrounded by boarded up buildings condemned for urban development that never happened. Becker decides to stay in the station and fight the action by the city. His decision is changed by events beyond his control. The only constant in the story is the jitney as the last line of the play is the station phone being answered with the words "Car Service". show less