On March 28, award-winning playwright August Wilson adds another chapter to his assemblage of stories that speak of the black experience in America. "Seven Guitars," his seventh in a long line of plays which chronicles the lives of African Americans, is about to raise its curtain for audiences on the Great White Way.

Some call the 50-year-old playwright a chronicler of history, while others call him a conduit voice for sleepless souls. If you examine the acclaimed playwright's work with a keen eye, you'll notice that he is meticulously weaving bits and pieces of the African American experience into a theatrical quilt that displays the struggles and successes of blacks in America.

Wilson has been compared to such playwrights as Tennessee Williams and Arthur Miller. No other writer, with the exception of Neil Simon, has received the amount of success that Wilson has achieved. Michael Phillips of the San Diego Union-Tribune describes the playwright's words as a "rich, casually revealing language."

Wilson began his writing career in grade school. After realizing that many of his classmates had forgotten about their heritage, the young writer started putting his feelings and concerns down on paper. Wilson is the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes, a Tony Award, five New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and many other accolades.

He has authored six other plays that include "Fences" (1987), "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" (1984), "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" (1988), "Two Trains Running" (1992), "The Piano Lesson" (1986), and "Jitney" (1982).

His latest work, "Seven Guitars," is set in the late 1940's, in Pittsburgh. The story begins at a funeral for Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton, whose blues guitar career was cut short by his sudden death. As a black angel appears at the funeral to take Barton away, the plays jumps back in time to tell the story of the guitarist's final days. "Seven Guitars" reunites Wilson with his longtime collaborator LLoyd Richards, who has directed all of Wilson's works on Broadway.

"Seven Guitars" features Tony nominated actor Keith David. The critically-acclaimed performer who is best known for his role in the original Broadway company of "Jelly's Last Jam" stars in this production as 'Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton.'

The ensemble also includes Rosalyn Coleman (Ruby), Viola Davis (Vera), Tommy Hollis (Red Carter), Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Canewell), Michele Shay (Louise), and Roger Robinson (Hedley).

"Seven Guitars" opens on March 28 at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York City. For ticket information, call (212) 239-6200.

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