Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson. Directed by Debbie Allen. Scenic design by David Gallo. Costume design by Paul Tazewell. Lighting design by Stacey Derosier. Sound design by Justin Ellington. Hair and wig design by Mia Neal. Original music and music supervision by Steve Bargonetti. Vocal and dialect coach Dawn-Elin Fraser. Associate director David Blackwell.
Cast: Taraji P. Henson, Cedric The Entertainer, Joshua Boone, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Maya Boyd, Savannah Commodore, Jackson Edward Davis, Abigail Onwunali, Bradley Stryker, Tripp Taylor, Dominique Skye Turner, Christopher Woodley, and Nimene Sierra Wureh.
Theater: Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Tickets: Telecharge.com

Joshua Boone Photo by Julieta Cervantes

The year is 1911. It's only been 46 years since the Civil War ended, and it sits well within the living memory of most of the Black travelers who fork out a hard-earned couple of bucks to spend a week at a time at the boardinghouse of Seth and Bertha Holly (Cedric the Entertainer and Taraji P. Henson, both of them giving masterful performances).

The industrial city of Pittsburgh looms over the cutaway setting, designed by David Gallo, of the interior of the comfortable and well-maintained space far from the land of cotton fields. But old times there are not forgotten, and the lingering stench of slavery is carried by those seeking to start anew in the North. They are part of the first wave of what would come to be known as the Great Migration.

The play itself is the second in August Wilson's ten-play "Century Cycle," of which nine are set in his own hometown of Pittsburgh. All of the characters, save for the Hollys (Seth Holly makes a point of stating that he knows nothing of cotton, having been born a free man in the North, probably around the time the Civil War was just getting started) are dealing one way or the other with the trauma of their past, even as they are striving to be optimistic about their future.

The Cast Photo by Julieta Cervantes

But some of those guests carry far more baggage than the battered suitcases they bring with them. Central is the story of the mysterious Herald Loomis (Joshua Boone, giving a harrowing performance). Loomis, dressed all in black and looking like a harbinger of death, comes with a girl in tow, his 11-year-old daughter Zonia (Savannah Commodore at the performance I attended). The boardinghouse is a stopover as he continues his years-long search for Zonia's mother, his wife. More than anyone in the play, Herald is haunted by a brutal past, the story of which is eventually revealed to be connected with the Joe Turner of the title.

Equally significant to the play is Bynum Walker (a spellbinding Ruben Santiago-Hudson), a conjure man and spiritual healer who speaks of using roots (a word with layers of meaning) in binding rituals. At times he comes off as a buddy to Seth, or even a charlatan hawking fake cures. But he also is the keeper of cultural memory and the importance of reaching deeply into the past to help people like Loomis who are in crisis.

As residents share their stories, a rich portrait emerges of a community of strangers who, perhaps, are not as alone and cut off as they often feel. This is one of the great strengths of Wilson's writing. His characters rarely preach to the audience (as, unfortunately, happens all too often in theatrical productions). It is through their seemingly mundane interactions with each other that, if we listen carefully, we can grasp the fuller story of the living memory of a past that has never passed.

Joe Turner's Come and Gone is an extraordinary ensemble work which demands subtlety and credibility in the performances, even during moments that seem almost supernatural or involve stories that are gasp-inducing. Watch, for example, the expressionless faces of the Black characters as the play's only white person, the genial traveling salesman Rutherford Selig (Bradley Stryker), explains how he got his reputation as a "finder."

This company handles these requirements with great skill. No one becomes just another anonymous wanderer. Every one of them will stick with you. Much of the credit here must go to director Debbie Allen, who fills the scenes with everyday domestic moments (the kneading of dough, the motions of eating a meal, a game of dominoes) while living history unfolds. The play and this production are outstanding examples of the creation of a rich character-driven world that expects much of the performers and of the audience. To borrow a quote from another great American play currently running on Broadway: "Attention must be paid."