By Michael Buzzelli
It’s 1977 in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. The stage is set for another production of August Wilson’s “Jitney,” but this version is unlike any other version you’ve seen. The play is in Italian with English supertitles. Five astonishing actors take on nine parts.
The production is a collaboration between Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company, Sardegna Teatro, and La Piccionaia.
Becker (Miguel Gobbo Diaz) runs a maybe-not-completely-legal cab service in the Hill District, driving customers to the closest Giant Eagle and points beyond. In between rides, he hangs out with his fellow Jitney drivers: Turnbo (Marcos Piacentini), Youngblood (Tomiwa Samson Segun Aina), Doub, and Fielding (Fredrico Lima Roque).
It’s not a cohesive workplace.
The masculine energies clash constantly. The drivers can’t even get through a friendly game of checkers.
Turnbo, who can be an instigator, constantly picks at the volatile Youngblood, a Vietnam vet. Fielding drinks too much. Youngblood is keeping a big secret from his girlfriend, Rena (Rosanna Sparapano).
After 20 years, Becker’s son, Booster (Piacentini again), is released from jail after serving a sentence for murder.
There is a raw, visceral appeal to the performances. If you take your eyes off the words, you can feel the emotions flowing between the actors.
Piacentini’s Turnbo and Booster are vastly different characters; his speech patterns, the timbre of his voice, and his every movement set them apart (not just the slight costume changes).
Five reasons to go: Miguel Gobbo Diaz, Federico Lima Roque, Rosanna
Sparapano, Tomiwa Samson Segun Aina and Marcos Piacentini.
Diaz and Piacentini’s tumultuous relationship is one of the play’s many highlights. They tear at each other mentally and spiritually. It’s powerful theater.
Sparapano is another chameleon in the show, playing Rena and Philmore. They are also very distinct. Sparapano is charismatic on stage, especially when she’s playing Rena (wearing a piled-high, vibrant yellow turban). Sparapano also gives the play a break from the machismo. Youngblood becomes vulnerable around her. It’s a decidedly different side of his personality.
Samson Segun Aina’s Youngblood is brilliant, oozing with masculine charm, a powder keg of raw emotions.
There are some English translation differences. “Put the gun UP,” instead of the more American “Put the gun DOWN.” An electronic sandwich board displays cab fares with the dollar sign after the amount, as is normal with lira or Euro, not “bucks.”
The stage is nearly barren, but director Renzo Carbonera gives us a very Pittsburgh palette. Everything is black and gold. He also fills the transitions between scenes with interstitial film footage from 70s Pittsburgh (sound and video by Filippo Cossu), along with slow-motion choreography that enhances the upcoming content moments before the actors begin their scenes.
It’s more than molte benne, it’s meravigliosa!
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“Jitney” runs May 8th – May 10th 2026 at the Carter Woodson Redwood Theater, inside the Madison Arts and Entertainment Center, 3401 Milwaukee Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15219. For more information, click here.
