"Everyone Is Born Equal. What Happens After That?"

This weekend is your last opportunity to see Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson's "King Hedley II" at the State Theatre. More than merely garnering every theatre-related prize under the sun - we count several Pulitzers, a Tony, and the New York Drama Critics' Circle award just at a glance - Wilson is one of America's most perceptive playwrights and, through his works, a historian of African American life.

His impressive body of work, most recently completed with 2005's "Radio Golf", forms a ten-piece, decade-by-decade exposition of the twentieth century as experienced by African Americans - from dealing with extraordinary obstacles like race relations, segregation, and the suffrage movement, to the banalities of daily life.

"King Hedley II" takes place in the 1980s, and has been heralded by the NY Times as having "some of the finest monologues ever written for an American stage." That's a pretty hefty endorsement, if you ask us. You can read a synopsis here.

This is the first production by the Pro Arts Collective after the death of its founder and director, Boyd Vance, who was by all accounts hugely influential in Austin's burgeoning arts community. In our opinion, they've done him proud.

"King Hedley II" runs through Sunday, June 19th at the State Theatre.

August Wilson's
KING HEDLEY II
June 17th-19th, 2005
Friday & Saturday @ 8 pm | Sunday @ 2 pm
The State Theatre
Purchase Tickets Online or call 474-TIXS

*Image from a different production of "King Hedley II" from theatremania.com