Jitney

 Jitney is August Wilson’s answer to the 1970s. The play is the eighth installment of his two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning series chronicling black life in each decade of 20th-century America. Set in the station of a gypsy taxicab service in Pittsburgh (hence the name), it shows the impact of early urban renewal and gentrification on black Americans. Station owner Becker is fighting off white developers when his son Booster (portrayed by Richard Brooks of Law and Order) returns home after a 20-year prison sentence for murder. This alone makes for an interesting, dramatic storyline, but throw in Becker’s employees — including a father trying to make a better life for his family and a drunk who’s not very good at hiding it from his boss — and this (fictional) moment in black history is rounded out with plenty to laugh, cry and think about. 2 and 7 p.m. The show runs 8 p.m. Fridays, 3 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Through July 13. Hobby Center, 800 Bagby. For tickets and information, call 713-315-2525 or visit www.thehobbycenter.org. $57.50 to $67.50.
Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 3 & 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 & 7 p.m. Starts: July 4. Continues through July 13, 2008