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The American
Century Cycle

Ten Plays. Ten Decades. One unparalleled portrait of the African American experience in the twentieth century. 

August Wilson's American Century Cycle stands as one of the most significant achievements in American theatre. Spanning ten plays set across ten decades—with nine rooted in Pittsburgh's historic Hill District—the Cycle chronicles the struggles, aspirations, resilience, and enduring humanity of African Americans throughout the twentieth century.

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"I wanted to place this culture onstage in all its richness and fullness." - August Wilson

Understanding the Cycle

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The Plays

  1900s  
Gem of the Ocean

  1910s  
Joe Turner's Come and Gone

  1920s  
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom

  1930s  
The Piano Lesson

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  1940s  
Seven Guitars

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  1950s  
Fences

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  1960s  
Two Trains Running

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  1970s  
Jitney

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  1980s  
King Hedley II

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  1990s  
Radio Golf

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The August Wilson Society (AWS) is a national, multidisciplinary community of educators, scholars, students, theatre professionals, artists, and cultural advocates dedicated to preserving, studying, and advancing the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson.

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