August Wilson set himself the extraordinary task of writing a play set in each decade of the 20th century. Taken together, “The American Century Cycle” presents a sweeping chronicle of Black life in America, via Pittsburgh where all the plays are set. Some of them have received the Hollywood treatment, including Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (coming to Netflix December 18) and Fences, both starring Viola Davis.
But the new documentary Giving Voice, about teenagers competing in the annual August Wilson Monologue Competition, offers the most vivid account yet of his indelible legacy. For a theater currently in enforced hibernation, it’s a love letter to the stage featuring a crop of tenacious and insightful young artists. For anyone, young or old, who’s struggled to find their place in the world—or looked around lately and wondered where the heck we go from here—it’s the most inspiring film you’ll see all year.
Tony winner Kenny Leon, a frequent collaborator of Wilson’s who directed Davis and Denzel Washington in Fences on Broadway, helped create the competition in 2007 to keep the playwright’s legacy alive, two years after Wilson’s death from cancer at age 60.
