August Wilson’s Jitney (Broadway) NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (388)
See it if you want to see a truly American story brought to life by an impeccable ensemble. The artistry is virtuosic on almost every level.
Don't see it if you are not ready for an emotional rollercoaster, you don't want to think or feel deeply. You favor make-believe and fantasy over real life.
See it if you enjoy shows that introduce you to a group of compelling characters that you grow to care about.
Don't see it if you don't enjoy shows with high tension and focuses on characters rather than events - not a lot happens on stage (more discussed).
See it if you want to experience one of the best acted plays by one of the best writers to ever share their work with the world. God Bless A. Wilson!
Don't see it if You are offended by language or adult themes/situations. Other than that, EVERYONE should go!
See it if you like August Wilson...this is his first play in the Pittsburgh series but never before on Broadway. Excellent ensemble acting.
Don't see it if like light-hearted, fantasy theatre rather than true-to-life dramas.
See it if you like the equivalent of great jazz, oratorio, sung through opera. What an ear Wilson had in this soulful early work. Poetic Portraiture
Don't see it if you expect traditional narrative arc and a major protagonist. This a an ensemble piece in which each character adds to the total composite. Read more
See it if Very beautifully and lovingly written, acted, directed and staged. Excellent sets and lighting. A very satisfying evening of theater.
Don't see it if you prefer action, this is a slice of life story, it's all about the characters. If you prefer musicals, just know this productions sings.
See it if You're a Wilson fan or want to give his plays a try. It's one of his most accessible -- both funny and touching. This is a great production.
Don't see it if You're interested in a play with a more female-centric voice. This Wilson play is sorely lacking women.
See it if You want to see one of the finest ensembles on Broadway. Powerful script, fascinating characters. Whets the appetite for more August Wilson!
Don't see it if You don't respond to drama (but there is also humor throughout. Give it a chance!)
Critic Reviews (54)
"Manhattan Theatre Club’s beautifully realized production finds hope in Wilson’s detailed portraits of men so often marginalized and rarely represented with such loving detail...Under the direction of Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the ensemble functions as a family of sorts, and the play a kind of variation on a living room drama...With the added perspective of 30-some years, the heart of the play’s central metaphor is as resonant now as ever."
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"It’s especially wonderful that we have director Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s authoritative 'Jitney' production of this less-known part of a masterwork...This is a meticulously cast, lovingly observed play...Many of the actors are veterans of Wilson’s storytelling style, experts in the unspooling ways he defines character and plot through grand handfuls of luscious and gritty street poetry...The delights and tragedies in this rich, chatty, eerily mature work remain exquisitely intimate."
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"None of Wilson’s plays are perfect and 'Jitney' is no exception. Wilson didn’t strive for a perfect, jewel-like clarity. He was about sprawl and humanity...This is a strong ensemble in the capable hands of director Ruben Santiago-Hudson...The Act One finale where Becker and his son Booster confront each other is one of the most magnetic and compelling scenes I’ve witnessed in a long time."
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"Bears the imprint of a young playwright who hadn’t fully found his voice. There are moments of melodrama and sentimentality that seem borrowed from a common dramatic shelf. However, the play also has qualities found later in Wilson’s best work, especially a vibrant awareness of the community he was writing about: its residents, their relationships and the flavorful stories they tell...'Jitney' is not a great work, but it's a vivid signpost to the more significant plays that followed."
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"An artful and melodic staging directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson...The marvelous Thompson is dignified, but not unyielding...Michael Potts is a firecracker as Turnbo...Stage vets Harvy Blanks, Anthony Chisholm and Ray Anthony Thomas provide strong support...Wilson’s vehicle is a group of men driving second-class cars, but tired of being treated like second-class citizens. The MTC's ensemble does a glorious job bringing home that message."
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“One of the first things that may strike you in watching Ruben Santiago-Hudson’s lovingly directed production of ‘Jitney’ is the joy his company of nine actors seems to bring on stage in performing August Wilson’s masterful comedy drama. It is infectious, but as the play progresses, you may well forget that those are actors up there on stage, so vibrantly real have the people they’re portraying become.”
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"A remarkable new production...Though the issues are ordinary, the quality of the writing raises them to almost epic proportions....Director Santiago-Hudson has done a masterful job in steering this, the first of the cycle, to its berth on Broadway. He has assembled a miraculously perfect cast for the current outing...'Jitney' is an unheralded masterwork that will stay with me along with a handful of other towering moments in my travels among the theatres of the world."
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"Wilson’s language is rich and the characters are deftly drawn...As directed by Tony winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson, the production starts with a mimed sequence in which various characters are introduced, and then it launches into chatter about the characters’ jagged pasts and uncertain futures. The result may not have the dramatic heft of 'Fences,' but it’s aiming for something more ambient and achieves it thanks to a committed cast."
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