August Wilson's King Hedley II is brilliant but too long, beautifully written but ultimately unfocused. There's enough material in this eloquent epic (three-plus hours) to fuel six or seven full-length plays, and there are characters so richly imagined that any one of them could be the hero/ine of a powerful drama on the difficulties of African-American life in our fair country.

The play is never slow — it never stalls on one of its many plots — and the American Stage production is so often superb that we remain transfixed, through-line or no through-line. Most of Wilson's favorite themes are here: the perversions of soul that occur when human beings are denied a future; the ever-present possibility of violence when a whole society is pressured to the breaking point; the argument with a God who seems to permit so much injustice; and the assertion of dignity in spite of a world that tears down black lives virtually from birth.

But the play needs serious reworking; so much gold all at once is impossible to carry. Still, there's a lot of gold. And the failures of great playwrights — and Wilson is one of America's greatest — are far more interesting than second-rate successes. So my recommendation is: Know what you're in for — and see this show anyway.

What you're in for are more plots than any single drama should offer. There's the story of thirtysomething King Hedley II (King is his first name), who went to prison for killing a man named Pernell and who discovers that Pernell's cousin is in town looking for him. Then there's the story of King's business venture with his friend Mister: They're out to sell enough stolen refrigerators to make the money with which to buy a video store that will specialize in kung-fu films. There's the story of King's relationship with his wife Tonya, who's pregnant but doesn't want to keep the baby (King wants to keep it very much). And there's the story of King's loyalty to a dead woman named Neesi.

There's the tale of King's decision, along with Mister, to rob a jewelry store; and there's the question of King's true parentage, and what King must do once he discovers it. There's the love affair of King's mother Ruby with a 60-year-old hustler named Ellmore, and there's the death of Aunt Ester, a 366-year-old woman who never shows her face (but who figures prominently in Wilson's Gem of the Ocean). There's King's obsessions with some seedlings that he's planted behind his house (symbol alert), and there are the weapon exchanges that include one Derringer and one machete. Add a religion-crazed neighbor, talk of drive-by shootings and "honor" killings, Tonya's teenaged daughter from an earlier liaison, a craps game for the highest stakes, a proposal of marriage, a couple of muggings … and on … and on …

Fortunately, the American Stage cast, sensitively directed by Bob Devin Jones, is almost always up to the demands of this sprawling work. Best of all are Alan Bomar Jones as Ellmore, Kim Sullivan as Stool Pigeon, Bechir Sylvain as Mister and Brandii as Tonya. Jones as Ellmore is a sweet-talking, charismatic gambler, smooth but exceedingly dangerous when crossed. Sullivan as Stool Pigeon is half-crazed but more than half-convincing when he warns that, having destroyed the world with water in Noah's time, God is next planning to do the job with fire — so look out. Sylvain is just about perfect as Mister, King's best friend who's recently lost his wife and furniture (oh yeah, another plotline), and Brandii as King's wife is heartbreaking when she explains that she doesn't want a raise up a child just to see it one day murdered. The two remaining actors are less consistent.

Postell Pringle as King is often commanding and, appropriately, desperate; but he seems to lose control of his character from time to time, and seldom attains tragic weight. The usually wonderful Sharon E. Scott seems undecided as to just who Ruby is; for several minutes she's terrific, then she changes not just a characteristic but the whole character. Frank Chavez's stunning set gives us the realistically detailed backyard of two rundown houses, and Saidah Ben Judah's fine costuming ranges from King's casual sportswear to Tonya's slinky outfits and Ellmore's super-flashy suit.

Anyway, kudos to American Stage for this latest installment in Wilson's 10-play cycle. Of course, not all Wilson's plays are masterpieces; but if we're truly to know this genius, we have to know his miscues also. The great playwright's unique perspective shines through even this unwieldy offering. I'm glad that I saw it; and I'm looking forward to the next.

This article appears in Jan 28 – Feb 3, 2009.