This is the sixth play I've read from Wilson's cycle of ten, each set in a different decade, all set in Pittsburgh. Despite some recurrent themes, each is unique and tells its own story with its own characters. I was surprised, therefore, when I realized how directly this one connects to King Hedley II. Ruby's telling of the fateful encounter between Elmore and Leroy differs from Elmore's version of the story in the chronologically later play, and is a perfect example of how realistic Wilson's mythology feels. These two-act plays are rich in what Wilson himself calls out as Black culture. As I keep moving back in time, I am enthralled by how timeless some experiences are. Though I have been disappointed in the short shrift given to his female characters, I enjoyed the richer characterizations Wilson created in the women of this story: Vera, Louise, and Ruby. ( )

This is part of a series of plays referred to as the Pittsburgh Cycle or the Century Cycle. Each play, except for one, is set in Pittsburgh in a different decade of the 20th century. This play, set in 1948, is the seventh one that I have read. They are all very powerful stories that provide a glimpse into the life of black Americans.
All of the scenes in this play are set in the back yard of a two story apartment building. The reader is an onlooker into the day to day lives of the characters, the seven guitars. They either live in the building or are constant visitors from the neighborhood. The central character is Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton. He is a blues guitarist whose latest record has just become a hit and is often heard in the background. He just finished 90 days in jail for vagrancy that being he didn't have any money in his pocket. When he got out there was a letter waiting for him inviting him back to Chicago to do some more recording. He is trying to get his girlfriend Vera to go with him but she is still angry because the last time he left her and took off with someone else. Hedley raises chickens in the basement and kills them and then sells chicken sandwiches around the neighborhood. He is always singing a song from his father about the money Buddy Bolden is bringing him. Canewell plays harmonica for Barton but it is in the pawn shop with Floyd's guitar right now. Red Carter, the drummer for Floyd, Louise and Ruby round out the cast. Louise and Red like to play whist and Ruby has come up from the South looking for a man.
The poverty in everyone's life is their constant enemy in the struggle for human dignity. The color of a person's skin is a circumstance beyond their control that gives them the hereditary status of an underling like a serf in the days of feudalism. This fuels a constant undertone of violence that builds into a tragic climax and at the end we are back at the funeral of a young man that was the opening of the play. ( )

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