Two Trains Running

August Wilson’s classic Two Trains Running, the 7th play in his ten-part series, takes place in the 1960s against the backdrop of a rumbling Civil Rights Movement, the recent assassination of Malcolm X, and gentrification encroaching on Black communities. As the community awaits the funeral of “Prophet Samuel,” a local reverend, Memphis Lee fights to keep his restaurant alive with the threat of “urban renewal.” As the Black community reels from the impact of Civil Rights and community leaders’ deaths and urban renewal’s grip on the Pittsburgh community, the next generation of community freedom fighters, Sterling and Risa, work to help Memphis save his business from the government that continues to double down on racist practices against African Americans.