The Black Theatre Troupe’s ‘Jitney’

This weekend, the Black Theatre Troupe is opening their new show, August Wilson’s “Jitney.”

The Black Theatre Troupe is one of the few theater companies in the United States to be recognized by the August Wilson Estate for producing all 10 of Wilson’s American Century Cycle.

August Wilson’s “Jitney” is set in the 1970s and explores the lives of unlicensed cab drivers who hustle to survive while providing crucial transportation in their community. These men face mounting tensions, generational clashes, and the looming threat of urban development.

The show will run from February 6, 2026, through February 22, 2026.

Rachel Finley, Director of The Black Theatre Troupe, and David Hemphill, Executive Director of The Black Theatre Troupe, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the play and its significance to the theater.

“We’re big on August Wilson,” Hemphill said. “He’s the standard bearer, so to say, for relevant, good African-American stories. He’s devoted himself to [the American Century Cycle]. So it has to be seen.”

According to Finley, “Jitney”, the first of the Cycle plays, is just as relevant to people in 2026 as it was when the play debuted in 1982.

“It’s about community coming together and supporting each other,” Finley said. “People that are coming from all different perspectives, different backgrounds…to find a way in a system that wasn’t set up to support them.”

Finley also explained how there are many connections between “Jitney” and other works that Wilson had produced.

“There’s definitely a relationship in his work,” Finley said, “…and seeing the full canon, you get such a depth and such a greater understanding of the people that he came across in his life.”

The majority of the shows that Wilson had curated tell the story of individuals he knew in Pittsburgh and the Hill District.

“We’re very happy that the community still supports us,” Hemphill said, “…and that they understand that our plays aren’t just black plays…they’re plays that talk about culture.”