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Radio Golf may not be the most accomplished chapter of August Wilson’s majestic cycle, but as a capstone, it’ll more than do. Harmond and his business partner Roosevelt Hicks want to rejuvenate the Hill, the historically black neighborhood of Pittsburgh where most of Wilson’s dramas have been set. In place of some derelict houses, the men intend to put up an apartment building full of yuppie amenities like Starbucks and Whole Foods. Elder Joseph Barlow, though, vows to protect the home of the late Aunt Ester, the embodiment of African-American memory and suffering who is said to have lived nearly 400 years. The dilemmas facing Harmond (whether to gentrify the old neighborhood) and Roosevelt (whether to be the minority face on a separate multi-million-dollar deal) are upmarket compared with the problems Wilson’s earlier characters faced. But the restless brilliance of the play, and the entire cycle, is to show how the underlying issues haven’t changed. Holding on to a disappearing past while the world advances, finding dignity through work: These challenges are every bit as vexing as they were a century ago. Because Wilson (who died in 2005) wrote a play for each decade of the twentieth century, we’ve watched as these problems were handed down through the generations. Now that the cycle is complete, the handing down seems just as important as the problems. — Jeremy McCarter

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New York Magazine Reviews

• Jeremy McCarter's Full Review (5/21/07)