August Wilsonwas a major American playwright whose work has been consistently acclaimed as among the finest of the American theater. His first play,Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for best new play of 1984-85. His second play,Fences, won numerous awards for best play of the year, 1987, including the Tony Award, the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award, and the Pulitzer Prize.Joe Turner's Come and Gone, his third play, was voted best play of 1987-1988 by the New York Drama Critics' Circle. In 1990, Wilson was awarded his second Pulitzer Prize forThe Piano Lesson. He died in 2005.
The seven guitars of the title are the seven characters whose straightforward story lines Wilson turns into beautiful, complex music--a funky wailing, irresistible Chicago blues. --John Lahr, The New Yorker Riveting. . . . Wilson's mastery of time and character has never been more apparent. --Boston Globe A play whose epic proportions and abundant spirit remind us of what the American theater once was. . . . As funny as it is moving and lyrical. --Vincent Canby, New York Times August Wilson is a remarkable American playwright. Seven Guitars is a formidably impressive tragi-comedy. This writing is as like and unlike Arthur Miller, as Duke Ellinton is as like and unlike Igor Stravinsky. --Clive Barnes, New York Post Full of quiet truth . . . mesmerizing . . . a major voice in our theater . . . unusually powerful. --Howard Kissel, New York Daily News A gritty, lyrical polyphony of voices that evokes the character and destiny of men and women who can't help singing the blues even when they're just talking. Bristles with symbolism, with rituals of word and action that explode into anguished eloquence and finally into violence. --Jack Kroll, Newsweek