Denzel Washington will be in Pittsburgh Wednesday as a leading fundraiser for the August Wilson House, where invited guests and Hill District residents will gather for a previously announced “ground blessing” ceremony.
The two-time Oscar winner won a Tony Award for his star turn in the Broadway revival of August Wilson’s “Fences,” and later adapted the playwright’s words into an Oscar-nominated movie of “Fences,” filmed in the Hill District. (His co-star, Viola Davis, won an Oscar for best performance by an actress in a supporting role).
The late Pulitzer Prize-winning writer grew up in the lower Hill at 1727 Bedford Ave., which is being restored as a cultural hub by the Daisy Wilson Artist Community Inc. Mr. Washington has been a leading fundraiser for the restoration.
The actor has said that August Wilson’s 10 plays representing black America in each decade of the 20th century belongs in the same grouping of greats such as Eugene O’Neill, Edward Albee and Arthur Miller. The actor brings mega-watt star power with him to the Hill.
Last week, The Hollywood Reporter placed him at No. 54 among Hollywood’s most influential people, saying, “ ‘Equalizer 2’ was his first sequel, but with $180 million, it may not be his last. Meanwhile, Washington, 60, who scored a 2018 Oscar nom for ‘Roman J. Israel, Esq.,’ returns to the director’s chair with ‘Journal for Jordan,’ about an American serving in Baghdad who writes a notebook of life lessons for his young son, just before he’s killed in action.”
The ceremony Wednesday begins at 2 p.m. With limited seating, there will be a tented area with displays for Hill District residents to see what’s coming to the August Wilson House.
Sharon Eberson: seberson@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1960. Twitter: @SEberson_pg.
First Published: September 24, 2018, 5:42 p.m.
