As January comes to a close, it’s all about August.
Late, great playwright August Wilson is receiving one of the nation’s highest honors when he takes center stage on a Forever stamp.
On Thursday, the United States Postal Service will officially dedicate the stamp via its social media channels during its virtual First Day of Issue Ceremony.
The Pittsburgh-born literary icon, whose acclaimed works include “Fences,” “The Piano Lesson” and this year’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” is the subject of the 44th stamp in the Black Heritage series, which has celebrated the achievements of African-Americans since 1978.
Wilson, often referred to as Black America’s Shakespeare, is hailed as a trailblazer for helping to bring non-musical Black drama to the forefront of American theater.
He is one of the few playwrights to have won the Pulitzer Prize more than once.
His landmark Pittsburg Cycle (or Century Cycle), consists of 10 plays — most of which are set in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, the African-American neighborhood where he grew up. Each play is set in a different decade and illustrates the Black experience of the time.
Throughout the decades, many of Wilson’s plays — produced on Broadway, Off-Broadway and regionally — have featured or served as career launching pads for many acclaimed “Wilsonian” actors including James Earl Jones, Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, Phylicia Rashad, Whoopi Goldberg, Angela Bassett, Charles S. Dutton, Courtney B. Vance, Mary Alice, Anthony Mackie, Tonya Pinkins, Harry Lennix, Danai Gurira, Andre Holland and Aunjanue Ellis.
Ruben Santiago-Hudson not only had the honor of performing in one of Wilson’s most acclaimed works (1996’s “Seven Guitars”), he also directed the Tony Award-winning revival of “Jitney” in 2017. The “Lackawanna Blues” playwright also starred as the icon in the one-man biographical play “How I Learned What I Know,” which was produced by the Signature Theatre Company in 2014.
“August Wilson changed the entire landscape of the American Theater with his 10-play American Century Cycle,” Santiago-Hudson told the Daily News on Wednesday. “His poetic and vivid celebration of the tumultuous journey of African-American people in this country, decade by decade for the 20th century, is a monumental accomplishment.”
“To have one of the nation’s highest honors bestowed upon him by the United States Postal Service and the words ‘forever’ written beneath his likeness is not only appropriate, it is honest. August Wilson’s impact will be ingrained in our hearts and souls forever,” he added.
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Designed by art director Ethel Kessler with art by Tim O’Brien, the August Wilson stamp features an oil painting based on a 2005 photograph. The image has a picket fence behind the playwright, alluding to the title of “Fences,” one of his best-known plays.
The legacy of Wilson, who died Oct. 2, 2005, lives on in pop culture with the recent release of the filmed adaptation of his first play, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” which has already won a string of awards and is expected to garner Oscar nods.
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is the only play in the cycle not set in Pittsburgh and chronicles a tense 1927 recording session in Chicago that reveals truths about the exploitation of African-American musicians and the tenuous nature of African-American success.
Directed by George C. Wolfe and starring Davis, the late Chadwick Boseman, Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo and Michael Potts, the cinematic masterpiece was written by Santiago-Hudson, who is considered a torchbearer of Wilson’s legacy.
“Personally, it gives me tremendous pride to be one of the many thespians, educators, and historians that have taken on the responsibility of carrying on and promoting [his] legacy as well as that of many other distinguished African-American writers,” he told The News.
“Having had the experience as a writer, actor and director personally influenced by August it is only fitting that I pass those experiences along to the next generation at places like the Black Arts Institute at the Billie Holiday Theater and the Ruben Santiago-Hudson Fine Arts Learning Center,” he added.
“August’s shoulders were wide and we all are standing on them as we pave the road for future generations to march forward,” Santiago-Hudson said.
Adding to the celebration of Wilson’s legacy, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce selected him for a posthumous Walk of Fame star for the Class of 2021.
Amid the coronavirus crisis, the star date has not been set as of yet.
“We are very proud to have selected Mr. Wilson as he was a great talent and very deserving of a Walk of Fame star,” the organization said. “We hope that either this year or next year we will be able to celebrate his work with his family and fans in a public ceremony.”