Taking the Ride on Two Trains Running at Hartford Stage

 Taking the Ride on Two Trains Running at Hartford Stage

By David Pulvermacher

Justice, culture, and resiliency are the themes championed at Hartford Stage’s latest production, Two Trains Running. Written by August Wilson, Two Trains Running is the seventh of Wilson’s ten-part play series of life in Pittsburgh. Join the journey as Memphis, Risa, West, and Sterling struggle to overcome the judgment oppressing them by 1960s society’s perception of being Black in America. Follow in tandem as Wolf and Hambone push to acquire their ideals of independence. Director Gilbert McCauley and company manifest Wilson’s poetic writing and compel the audience to contemplate their path of life, death, and what they contribute during the ride. 

The audience enters Wilson’s world at Memphis Lee’s restaurant in the Hill District of Pittsburgh in 1968. The story follows the lives of Memphis and the restaurant’s patrons as they navigate issues of race, gentrification, and personal struggles. Trying to get by with his dwindling business, Memphis Lee must decide who to sell his diner to. Will it be West, the wealthy funeral director and longest-standing business owner of their community, or the city that wants to tear down the neighborhood? 

As Memphis scrutinizes his options, Risa takes care of the diner’s patrons as the sole chef and waitress. A fierce and compassionate woman, Risa is trapped by the racial and gender discrimination of the time. The two battle their personal and societal struggles alone as they serve their patrons. Each character has their own interpersonal and extrapersonal tribulations to face. The characters grapple with their pasts and futures, highlighting the complexities of African American life during the 1960’s. Wilson's storytelling and spellbinding characters make Two Trains Running a profound story of self-identity and exploration that is relevant even 50 years after its first debut. 

(Photo by T. Charles Erickson)

The captivating performances of the seven leads are what bring Wilson’s writing to life. Each actor brings a compelling take to their character. Godfrey L Simmons Jr. showcases Memphis’s determination and aspirations through his dynamic range. From the bitterness of his restaurant passing its heyday to the anger and craving to sell it for what he believes he is owed, Simmons is strategic in when to command the stage and relinquish it to his colleagues. Along with Simmons, Postell Pringle created an alluring performance as Wolf. Pringle’s portrayal of the community’s silver-tongued numbers man is charismatic and beguiling. Pringle has clever comedic timing for his scheming character. 

Not to be outdone, Taji Senior commands the stage as Risa. Senior balances Risa’s austere attitude towards her boss and Sterling, her persistent suitor, with compassionate service to struggling members of her community.  Along with Senior, David Jennings strikes the audience with his portrayal as the struggling and homeless Hambone. Through each nervous tick and perseverating thought, Jenning’s Hambone delivers joy and empathic pain to the audience.  

(Photo by T. Charles Erickson)

Rafael Jordan was the charismatic epicenter of the troop as Sterling. Jordan showcases Sterling’s undying optimism alongside his resentment at society’s double standard for the Black community. Foiling Jordan’s magnetic performance was Jeorge Bennett Watson as West and Jerome Preston Bates as Holloway. Both Watson and Bates brought a humbling performance that balances Sterling’s energy. Watson, as the prolific funeral director and longest business owner in the community, portrays West as a pretentious success story in the community. He is elegant in both his physicality and word delivery. Then, as the wise man Holloway, Bates opposes this demeanor with his jolly and thoughtful portrayal. Bates entranced the audience with the history and beliefs of the community, encouraging everyone to seek connections to their culture and past. 

The direction by Gilbert McCauley emphasizes the struggle each character confronts. As Memphis and Holloway talk, you can feel the emptiness of the space through Risa’s exhausted and frantic work around the diner. Risa tending to the empty tables subtly reinforces to the audience why Memphis is upset and desperate to prove his restaurant’s worth. Depending on where you sit in the theater, one will be able to see Risa as she runs back and forth, working to prepare meals in the kitchen, reinforcing the characters’ struggling world. From the running jokes about the jukebox to West’s and Memphis's squabble over the landline phone, McCauley has excellent attention to detail that makes the world feel well lived in.   

(Photo by T. Charles Erickson)

The set design is realistic to what one would imagine a 1960’s diner to be. From the checkered pattern flooring to the chalkboard with the menu and the hightop counter, Scenic Designer Lawrence E. Morten III transports the audience back in time. Along with the set, Costume Designer Devario D. Simmons created costumes that are both believable for the time period and that reflect each character’s personality. 

The execution of the show was well done, but the story itself can come off as a slow burn. The show entrusts the audience to trust what the characters say, for the story revolves primarily around dialogue. The characters talk about their adversities and what they’re doing to work through them. However, we don’t get to see the action, such as Sterling applying and getting rejected from jobs or Memphis going to see Aunt Ester.

Two Trains Running is a thought-provoking story that continues to have relevant and significant meaning today. The show will be playing until February 16th at the Hartford Stage. The run time is 2 hours and 40 minutes with one intermission, and the theater recommends for audiences 14 and older. The theater advises families to use discretion as the show utilizes the n-word and references to sex and self-harm. Tickets start at $30 with performances on Mondays at 2:00 PM, Wednesday through Friday at 7:30 PM, Saturdays at 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM, and Sundays at 2:00 PM. Tickets can be purchased online at HartfordStage.org, by phone at (860) 527-5151, or in person at the box office at 50 Church St, Hartford, CT.