The geography of the stage provides a schematic of the moral landscape in August Wilson’s Radio Golf, now playing at Round House Theatre. As the opening action (set in a new real estate development office): at stage left, Harmond Wilks (Jaben Early) hangs a portrait of Martin Luther King, Jr. over his desk; stage right, his business partner, Roosevelt Hicks (Ro Boddie), enshrines his hero, Tiger Woods.
Now that the two main characters have staked out positions on opposing ethical compass points, the action of the play presents a series of moral choices embodied by Wilks’ wife, Mame (Renee Elizabeth Wilson), local resident Joseph Barlow (Craig Wallace), and a carpenter, Sterling Johnson (Kevin Mambo).
Elder Barlow claims the last house standing in the way of an ambitious urban renewal project which Harmond has worked for years to bring to this Pittsburgh neighborhood. All he needs is the official designation of “blight” to begin demolition. Barlow, however, insists the house’s deed has never been transferred. His position as the presenter of a moral dilemma drives Harmond’s exploration of the somewhat shady dealings involved in the property transfer for the development. Will Barlow accept belated payment to clear up the issue and let demolition go forward? No, he won’t.
Johnson also has a connection to the condemned house, but he is a less-vivid character than Barlow. Although he represents a slightly different angle of argument for preservation, both Barlow and Johnson firmly occupy center stage. Mame Wilks, underutilized as Harmond’s wife, bears some of the consequences of Harmond’s (not yet reified) decision, but ultimately decides to trust him to make the right one.
As for Roosevelt Hicks, his avarice – symbolized by worship of Tiger and all things golf – drives his deals with wealthy White millionaires as the front (“blackface”) for their schemes for Federal tax benefits to buy radio stations, as well as his blinkered version of Harmond’s dilemma. He sees no advantage in allowing that historic house to stand.
Now, which will be the greater good: new housing, a Whole Foods Market and Barnes and Noble (oh, pangs of nostalgia for when a bookstore was a name to conjure with!), or the preservation of a rundown but fundamentally sound old house? Seemingly-eternal questions of gentrification vs. preservation are not going to be settled by a two-hour play, but I guarantee you will be both entertained and provoked to thought by this excellently written and acted production.
Round House has once again developed a cafe menu tailored for this production. There are only a few direct mentions of food in Radio Golf, but the food and beverage manager, Frank Manganello, has made the most of them. An ode by one character to fried chicken has been transformed to BBQ Chicken Pierogi. Another, to bread pudding, has been transformed to (ahem) Bread Pudding.
On the beverage side, Mr. Manganello has sourced two wines from the McBride Sisters Winery. Robin and Andréa McBride had been raised apart, one in California and one in New Zealand, but decided to start a winery when reunited. They now run the largest Black-owned wine company in the United States.
And just for Opening Night, a surprise: the boring old dessert buffet was replaced by a Cookie Table! For this venerable Pittsburgh tradition, the dessert table at weddings and other festive events is supplied by celebrants bringing a variety of cookies. In Round House’s case, 35 varieties of cookie, 900 in all, were baked to order by Sunflower Bakery in Rockville. They train young adults and teens with learning differences in pastry arts, hospitality and related industries, and judging by these cookies, do an excellent job.
I named sugar cookies, macaroons, brownies, blondies, chocolate chip (of course), jam thumbprints, rugalach, raspberry crumb bars, and others equally decadent and delicious. Gift bags were thoughtfully provided to take home (you can only eat so many cookies at once, after all!)
Radio Golf by August Wilson is playing at Round House Theatre through July 2, 2023.
