Customer Reviews

Seven Guitars

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although not quite on a par with "Fences" or "The Piano Lesson," Wilson's story of a blues musician and his companions in the late '40s is still a compelling read. As usual, he creates music in the language of his characters, all of whom are distinctly drawn.

"Seven Guitars" recounts the fate of a Pittsburgh blues musician, Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton, who scores a hit record in Chicago, but falls short of capitalizing on his success, either with his music, or with his on-again, off-again love, Vera. Along the way, we meet his musician friends, Canewell and Red, his crusty neighbor Louise, the seductive young visitor Ruby, and the mysterious Hedley, who orates on Marcus Garvey, Ethiopia and Buddy Bolden while he goes about his job butchering chickens for sale on the streets of Pittsburgh.

The play's vibrancy springs not only from the characters' plain-spoken poetry, but from Wilson's knowledge of blues, folk legends, superstitions and from his vivid recreation in print of a particular place: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which he has managed to turn into a place of literary myth.

As in "Fences" and in his play set in the '60s, "Two Trains Running" Wilson relies strongly on a character verging on and descending into madness. In "Seven Guitars," it's Hedley, and the way you feel about the play will be determined in part by your reaction to this character and how Wilson uses him. For me, Hedley's motivation was a bit too murky, and his most important act at the end of the play did not mesh well with the motivation Wilson developed for Floyd, the ambitious bluesman. Because of this problem, "Seven Guitars" lacks the powerful thematic punch of "Fences" and "The Piano Lesson."

Still, this play makes a fine addition to Wilson's dramatic cycle that explores African-American life through the twentieth century. The play confirms his place as one of the great voices in the American theater.

August Wilson's play "Seven Guitars" had its Broadway premiere in 1996. The play follows seven African-American characters, both male and female, in Pittsburgh in 1948. The first scene opens after the funeral of one character, and the play then moves back in time to tell his story.

There is a lot of excellent material in this play. Wilson expertly weaves in songs, humor, one character's recipe for turnip greens, and a funny discourse on the difference between Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi roosters. One character, Floyd, is a talented musician, and his arc offers a perspective on African-American artistic aspiration.

Probably the most memorable character in the play is Hedley, a hardworking entrepreneur who is tormented by rage and lust. His dialogue is particularly rich, as he invokes Toussaint L'Ouverture, Marcus Garvey, and traditional African-American biblical interpretation. Overall, "Seven Guitars" is a frequently compelling play with well-written dialogue.

Okay, blame it on the recently departed Studs Terkel and his damn interview books. I had just been reading his "The Spectator", a compilation of some of his interviews of various authors, actors and other celebrities from his long-running Chicago radio program when I came across an interview that he had with the playwright under review here, August Wilson. Of course, that interview dealt with things near and dear to their hearts on the cultural front and mine as well. Our mutual love of the blues, our concerns about the history and fate of black people and the other oppressed of capitalist society and our need to express ourselves politically in the best way we can. For Studs it was the incessant interviews, for me it is incessant political activity and for the late August Wilson it was his incessant devotion to his century cycle of ten plays that covered a range of black experiences over the 20th century.

Strangely, although I was familiar with the name of the playwright August Wilson and was aware that he had produced a number of plays that were performed at a college-sponsored repertory theater here in Boston I had not seen or read his plays prior to reading the Terkel interview. Naturally when I read there that one of the plays being discussed was entitled "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" about the legendary female blues singer from the 1920's I ran out to get a copy of the play. That play has been reviewed elsewhere in this space but as is my habit when I read an author who "speaks" to me I grab everything I can by him or her to see where they are going with the work. This is doubly true in the case of Brother Wilson as his work is purposefully structured as an integrated cycle, and as an intensive dramatic look at the black historical experience of the 20th century that has driven a lot of my own above-mentioned political activism.

The action of this play takes place in a black neighborhood in Pittsburgh (Wilson's home town) in 1948. This, moreover, is the fifth and thus the middle play in the century cycle. Both these facts are important in understanding the tensions of the play. One of Terkel's oral histories is entitled "The Good War", about the trials and tribulations of those on all sides of the conflict in World War II and from all strata in the American experience of that war. Implicit in Terkel's use of quotation marks around the words in his title is that, on reflection and with time the expectations from that war might not be all they were made out to be. That, at least, jibes with my own sense of the dilemma that confronted those who fought the war. I believe that Wilson also is reflecting on that understanding in this work since some promises were made to black people then that "their boats would also rise" after their key role in industry on the home front and in the ranks of the (segregated) army.

The story line, as seems to be axiomatic with Wilson, is fairly straight forward if the issues presented and the dialogue spoken that convey those issues are much more complex. Army veteran Floyd has some musical talent and heads out to try his luck in the Mecca (for migrating southern blacks)- Chicago and has just had a hit. However, through the well-known vagaries of American racial life, as filtered through common black experience, he hasn't been able to cash in on his success. So, to avoid being the classic `one hit' Johnnie who clutter the cultural landscape of America, Flyod sets out to re-conquer Chicago on his terms- if he can just get that guitar out of hock, get that band together, get that woman (Vera) to believe in him and his ability to succeed and if he can avoid the "cutthroats" (literally) out to cut him down to size all will be well. Floyd fails, and that failure is a metaphor for the black condition in the 1940's. Maybe things will turn out better later but "the dream" is still on hold here. This, my friends, is powerful, powerful stuff beyond what I can describe to you here in this short summary.

Wilson's conceptual framework, as I have mentioned previously in a review of his "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom", is impeccable. Placing the scene in 1940's Pittsburgh permits him to give a bird's eye view of that great migration of blacks out of the south in the post-World War I period at a time when they are shaking off those roots (as exemplified by the nice contrast in the play between the old time thinking Miss Tilley's with her ill-fated rooster and Louise and Vera ). Floyd, Red Carter and Canewell, among others (including Ruby, recently arrived from the South) are now "assimilated". Moreover, Wilson is able to succinctly draw in the questions of white racism (powerfully so in the story of Floyd's agent, Mr. T. H. Hall), black self-help , black hatred of whites (Hedley's tirades), black self-hatred, black illusion (that the `lifting' of the white boats was going to end, for blacks, the seemingly permanent Great Depression), black pride (through the link with past black historical figures and with the then current hero, Joe Louis), the influence of the black church (good or bad), black folk wisdom (as portrayed by Canewell, who is more grounded in his memories of his southern roots than the others) and, in the end, the rage behind black on black violence (Hedley) resulting from a world that not was not made by the characters in this play but took no notice of their long suppressed rage that turned in on itself.

And all the time while one is reading the play one is struck by the music of the dialogue, it's always the blues. I posed a question in the review of "Ma Rainey" asking, plaintively, "what are the blues?". That is, apparently, to be my theme in reviewing the body of Brother Wilson's work. I will let the last line of that review stand here. "So if anyone asks you what the blues are you now know what to say- read and see Mr. Wilson's play(s)".

Seven Guitars is a play by August Wilson, one of ten plays in The Pittsburgh Cycle. The Cycle covers Black History in the United States of America, with one play for each decade. The plays are not strictly connected, but sometimes characters or the children of characters return, and they are connected through Black History, Jazz, The Blues, and other aspects of Black Culture. There is also often a mentally impaired oracular character, such as Hedley in Seven Guitars.

Seven Guitars is a play from the 40's, and it mainly concerns Floyd Barton, who is a Blues Musician who has recorded a hit song, "That's All Right" and is trying to get to Chicago where he has been invited to record some more. Hedley makes his living by tending and cooking chickens, but he may not be right in the head. He often refers to trumpeter Buddy Bolden and a Black Folk song where the legendary New Orleans jazzman returns bearing money. As Hedley becomes increasingly unhinged Floyd is still trying to get to Chicago; and also trying to convince old flame Vera to go with him. He needs to get his guitar out of hock, as he is booked to play a dance for Mother's Day, and then on to Chicago.

This is the first play I have read from August Wilson's cycle, and it makes me curious to read the rest, though now that I know the chronology, I will start with Gem of the Ocean and work my way through. Better yet, I would like to see the plays performed, to really experience them as they were intended. I like how he has encapsulated a century of history into ten plays. One thing that perplexed me about Seven Guitars though: I only counted one guitar, and kept waiting for the other six to make their appearance.

Though Floyd is a totally fictional character, I would say that he comes closest to Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup who toured through the Southland in the 40's with Elmore James and Sonny Boy Williamson. He also had a song entitled "That's All Right" and it was this song that was recorded by Elvis Presley, kind of goofing off after several lackluster attempts to record more Perry Comoish material in Sun Studios in Memphis. They let the tape roll, and Elvis had found the sound and direction that would launch his phenomenal career.

Seven Guitars and The Pittsburgh Cycle pays tribute to the various unsung heroes--not just the Musicians but the grandmothers and the men and women who struggled through their everyday lives--of the rich cultural tapestry of Black America in the 20th Century.

The Pittsburgh Cycle
1900s - Gem of the Ocean (August Wilson Century Cycle) (2003)
1910s - Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1984)
1920s - Ma Raineys Black Bottom (1982) - set in Chicago
1930s - The Piano Lesson (1989) - Pulitzer Prize
1940s - Seven Guitars (1995)
1950s - Fences, a Play By August Wilson (1985) - Pulitzer Prize
1960s - Two Trains Running (August Wilson Century Cycle) (1990)
1970s - Jitney: A Play in Two Acts (1983)
1980s - King Hedley II (The August Wilson Century Cycle) (2001)
1990s - Radio Golf (2005)

Arthur Big Boy Crudup and His 22 Greatest Songs by Arthur Big Boy Crudup

I'm a freshmen in high school and for a spring breakassignment,we could read any August Wilson play. I don't really know why I chose"The seven guitars", but I believe it was the cover. After reading Fences and enjoying it, I knew I would like it. I enjoyed all the characters in this novel and it was short and sweet, over all a great novel!

In my opinion I feel that Wilson's FENCES is his best play. I've read THE PIANO LESSON and SEVEN GUITARS. August Wilson is an EXCELLENT playwright who truly captures the African American struggle with such humor, satire, irony, hope, and sadness. This was a good read, but not one of his best to me.

August Wilson is the greatest American playwright. Not the greatest living American playwright, but the greatest, period. His best plays stand comparison with the best work of Eugene O'Neill, Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams. No American playwright has produced such a consistent body of work, and no American playwright has attempted a cycle with the scope and ambition of his series of plays. Wilson's subject is the Great Migration, the story of the African-Americans who emigrated from the southern states to the cities of the industrial North and their slow construction of satisfactory lives in the difficult and changing world of 20th century America. Wilson has written 10 plays on this subject, one for each decade of the 20th century, amounting to a fictional history of African-Americans in the urban North. This is, however, history from below. Wilson's heroes are garbagemen, short-order cooks, day laborers, self-taught musicians, and street vendors. One of his great gifts is his ability to use common speech in a way that is consistently interesting, frequently eloquent, and often powerful. He gives poetic voice to people usually regarded as inarticulate and invests ordinary struggles with real but not exaggerated significance. The African-Americans of Wilson's plays are a doubly uprooted people. Uprooted initially by the grievous trauma of slavery that sundered their connection with their native traditions, the emigrants fleeing the Jim Crow south and its brutal racism are uprooted also from their homes, families, and the traditions developed in the aftermath of slavery.
Wilson's overall story is the reconstruction of African-American identity and family life in the cities of the North over the course of the 20th century. Wilson's plays often feature protagonists whose sense of identity and families have been damaged greatly by the oppressions of racism and the atomizing effects of the industrial economy of the North. Over the course of the cycle, Wilson shows characters re-establishing a sense of connection with their ancestors, even back to Africa, and gradually developing the family ties to sustain them. Wilson repeatedly uses supernatural elements in his work, particularly as a device to advance his theme of the importance of developing a sense of historic connection with ancestors, including those originally abducted from Africa. This could easily be hokey, but his matter of fact use of these elements is very effective. Another recurring theme is the importance of music, particularly the Blues tradition developed by African-American musicians, which he sees as a vital and creative force in African-American life, often carrying truths across generations. Some of the most affecting parts of Wilson's work are his demonstrations of the direct and indirect destructive effects of American racism on family life. Even more powerful are those scenes in which his characters overcome these obstacles to reaffirm family connections.
Not all of Wilson's plays are outstanding, but all are at least very good. Readers will differ on their favorites. In my opinion, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Fences, and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom are outstanding. The rest vary from excellent (The Piano Lession) to the very good. Cumulatively, they are a really impressive achievement. Mention must be made of the fact that Wilson has been aided by outstanding collaborators. Wilson's plays usually go through a series of versions before the final version emerges. Wilson has had the benefit of working with unusually talented directors, notably the gifted Lloyd Richards, who was responsible in large measure for recognizing Wilson's talent. Wilson has benefited also from the existence of a whole generation of remarkably talented African-American actors. These people made it possible for Wilson to realize his vision. We have all been the beneficiaries of the work of Wilson and his collaborators.

_Seven Guitars_ is August Wilson's "Century Cycle" play set in 1948 Pittsburgh. The play revolves around a successful musician, Floyd Barton, hoping to return to Chicago to make another recording. Before he can do so, however, a number of obstacles stand in his way, not the least of which is getting his guitar out of the pawn shop.

The dialouge is the real gem of this play: it alternates between humorous and tragic with almost Biblical allusions (seven characters, Floyd remarks that there are "seven ways to go," another character, Red has seven girlfriends) and prophesy for doom and death. However, the resolution to the conflicts Floyd - and the others face - seemed a bit forced to me; having read a number of Wilson's plays I am left wondering how many times he needs to conclude the story with a crime. (Of course, the same thing could be said of Shakespeare's tragedies, and perhaps I am missing something significant here given this connection.)

I found _Seven Guitars_ didn't have the same visceral punch as The Piano Lesson or speak to a broader experience as in his Fences. The sheer beauty of his dialogue and the banter between characters, however, warrants 3 stars.

I like the character Hedley, because he's crazy. Other than him, it is a pretty slow read. Just poor people complaining about their lives. It would suck to be in their shoes and Floyd should have worked for a percentage off the first record.

Each of August Wilson's plays is rich, memerable, and wholly poetic in its scope of the African American experience. Naturally with any series in any genre or medium, some plays are not as good as others--but mostly the entire cycle is a near masterpiece, and certain plays in the cycle (such as Fences) are a perfect masterpiece.

If you look at the structure of the cycle, you will see that to have ten plays put together to encompass a whole century in the lives of an entire group of people is no small feat. When August Wilson writes of the African Americans, he is in a sense writing about all Americans and how they live their lives. The plays demonstrate their voice in the rich poetry of the blues--one could very well be called the blues musician of the pen and the paper. With no more than a tenth grade education and a lifelong passion for books, Wilson has proven himself a true visionary.

August Wilson died in 2005. His absence will be long grieved, just as his immortal works will surely be forever cherished for their sharp-edged beauty and piercing vitality.