Two Trains Running | Two Trains Running

At a glance:

Author: August Wilson
First Published: 1991
Type of Work: Play
Type of Plot: Psychological realism
Time of Work: 1969
Setting: A restaurant in a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ghetto
Principal Characters: Memphis Lee, Wolf, Risa (Clarissa) Thomas, Holloway, Hambone, Sterling Johnson, West
Genres: Drama, Psychological drama
Subjects: Justice, 1960’s, Gambling, Restaurants, bars, taverns, or pubs, Poverty or poor people, Inner cities or inner-city life, Death or dying, Preaching, Money, Funeral rites or ceremonies, Pittsburgh, Economic conditions, Consumers or consumer rights, Prophecy or prophets, Urban renewal
Locales: Pittsburgh, PA

The Play

Two Trains Running is a two-act drama consisting of eight scenes that unfold over a period of one week in Memphis Lee’s restaurant in Pittsburgh. As in many of August Wilson’s plays, there is a minimum of action: Many of the drama’s key events occur offstage and are discussed by the characters. The emphasis is on dialogue—the rich musical language of the street and the harsh urban reality it explores.

As the drama opens, urban renewal has gradually (and ironically) brought a once-vibrant neighborhood under the wrecker’s ball, and Memphis’...

Two Trains Running | Two Trains Running

At a glance:

The Play

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