Radio Golf Broadway Show Is Not Just An Entertainer

An ambitious lawyer and the inheritor of real estate property, Harmond Wilks, has the dream of redeveloping African American Hill District in Pittsburgh. He wants to convert the neighborhood that’s in shambles into a sophisticated area with a high rise building and a chain of stores. He teams up with his friend Roosevelt Hicks, who has recently been appointed as the vice president of Mellon Bank. Both plan a redevelopment project.

During this time, Wilks decides to stand as a candidate for the post of the Mayor of Pittsburgh. But, when some dark secrets are revealed from an old mansion at Wylie, Harmond’s dreams of redevelopment and becoming a Mayor get hit badly. Will he be able to become the first black mayor of Pittsburgh? Will he be able to transform his neighborhood? Or will his black past shatter his dreams and haunt him forever?

“Radio Golf” is all about community development. It’s a story that reminds you about the responsibility of each citizen towards his community. August Wilson, in his play, wants to tell his audience that transformation of neighborhood can be achieved only when someone cares enough to take the initiative to do something about it. Once someone starts, others will follow.

“Radio Golf” is the last sequence of Wilson’s 10-play cycle, which he wrote after every decade. August Wilson has won the Pulitzer Prize and has a deep insight into African American lifestyle.

“Radio Golf” is produced by Margo Lion, Jujamcyn Theaters, Jeffrey Richards/Jerry Frankel, Fran Kirmser, Tamara Tunie, Lauren Doll, Bunting Management Group, Wonder City, Georgia Fontiere/Open Pictures, Inc. /Townsend League, Gordon Davidson, and Jack Viertel.

David Gallo, Tony Award winner, has created the sets; Susan Hiferty, who is also a Tony Award winner, has designed the costumes; Donald Holder, again a Tony Award winner, has done the lighting arrangements; and Dan Moses Schreier has given the sound effects for the play.

“Radio Golf” has humor; it has thrill and suspense; it shows the ambition of a person and how one’s past can create a conflict in one’s present life.

It is not just any other Broadway show, but a part of Wilson’s research in the African American culture. It gives a reflection of the 20th century and also tells about how fleets of ship loaded with African slaves used to dock at Virginia.

“Radio Golf” was premiered at Yale Repertory Theater in 2005. Thereafter, it was shown at the West Coast in Los Angeles, California by Mark Taper Forum. The show was produced in October 2006 by the Huntington Theater Company situated in Boston. It was again produced in 2007 by McCarter Theater. On May 8, 2007, “Radio Golf” was presented as a Broadway show in New York’s Cort Theater.

The show is a must-see, as it not only entertains, but also sends a message across the people that community will always remain at the top of the development agenda.

So, book your tickets now itself, either online, or on phone, or at the box office and have a taste of African American culture.

Al is the webmaster of the Radio Golf Broadway site, a New York City entertainment website with reviews and news on every event, as well as Radio Golf Broadway information.