Powerful Long Ladder

Trailer to August Wilson's JITNEY, in Italian

Powerful Long Ladder presents Italy's Sardegna Teatro production of August Wilson's JITNEY, in Italian with an all Black-Italian cast at Spring Hill College Arlene Mitchell Theater in Mobile, Alabama.

🎟 For Tickets and Showtimes
www.powerfullongladder.com

Jitney_Trailer_short This is "Jitney_Trailer_short" by Teatro di Sardegna Soc. Coop. on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

→ Thursday, October 15 to Saturday, October 17 | Arlene Mitchell Theatre / Spring Hill College / Clotilda Descendants and Powerful Long Ladder — Mobile, Alabama (USA)

"August Wilson: Like You’ve Never Heard Him Before" -Erik Piepenburg, The New York Times, April 2026

🇺🇲 Cleveland, Ohio's Powerful Long Ladder is proud of this Gulf Coast international collaboration with 🇮🇹Italy's Sardegna Teatro to present the company's foreign production of August Wilson's JITNEY 🎭 in Italian with an all Black-Italian cast in Mobile, Alabama, the original home of Mardi Gras.

Italy's prestigious theatre companies, Sardegna Teatro and La Piccionaia was featured in The New York Times for its first U.S. international collaboration tour of August Wilson's 'Jitney' in Italian to St. Louis Black Rep in St Louis, Powerful Long Ladder in Cleveland and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company/August Wilson House in Pittsburgh in May 2026. STANDING OVATIONS!

Now is your chance, Mobile and the surrounding Gulf Coast.

📆 October 15-17, 2026
📍 Arlene Mitchell Theater
Spring Hill College
1495 Rimes. Rd.
Mobile, Alabama 36608

A huge thank you to the sponsor, Mobile County Commission. We also thank Spring Hill College and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company for their support

🎟For Tickets and Showtimes
www.powerfullongladder.com

Black Theatre United American Theatre magazine Mobile Arts Council Gulf Coast News Gulf Coast Arts Alliance Color Of Change

Jitney (Artistical rider) – Sardegna Teatro In the midst of the steel industry crisis, for which the city is known worldwide, five drivers, Becker, Youngblood, Turnbo, Fielding, and Doub, struggle to get by, clinging nostalgically to the past, while seeing only the dark outlines of an uncertain future on the horizon.

Cleveland based theatre company, Powerful Long Ladder in association with Spring Hill College presents Italy's Sardegna Teatro and La Piccionaia's production of Pulitzer Prize-winner August Wilson's, Jitney in Mobile, Alabama.

Powerful Long Ladder's founder, Terrence Spivey, is no stranger to the Gulf Coast. In 2022, he was commissioned by the Clotilda Descendants Association to write and direct the play, "An Ocean in My Bones, for Africatown descendants in Mobile, Alabama.

The critically acclaimed "Jitney" directed by Italian film/theatre director Renzo Carbonera, with an all Black-Italian cast, made its U.S. debut in May 2026 at The Black Rep in St. Louis, MO, Powerful Long Ladder in Cleveland, OH and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company/August Wilson House in Pittsburgh, PA., the childhood home of the great August Wilson.

Sponsors: Mobile County Commission, Poarch Creek Foundation and a few Clotilda Descendants. We thank you.

Special thank you to Spring Hill College and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company for their support.

When: October 15-17, 2026
Where: Arlene Mitchell Theater
1495 Rimes Rd.
Mobile, Alabama 36608

There will be projected English supertitles during the Jitney performances.

Go to PLL link www.powerfullongladder.com for tickets and more information.


Kpvutv Pvamu American Theatre magazine
Gulf Coast News Gulf Coast Arts Alliance Black Theatre United

after you have all the lines memorized
you must do one thing
fall into darkness backward

-The late, great Lloyd Richards advice to a young Bill Duke

"August Wilson Like You’ve Never Heard Him Before: In Italian"

-Eric Piepenburg, The New York Times 📰

In May 2026, three Midwest theatre companies (The Black Rep in St. Louis, Powerful Long Ladder in Cleveland, Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company in Pittsburgh) made history with an international collaboration to bring Italy's Sardegna Teatro production of August Wilson's JITNEY, in Italian, with an all Black-Italian cast, to the U.S..

Shout out to The George Gund Foundation, Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, Treelawn, and individual contributions for supporting PLL.

SAVE THE DATE
🗓October 15-17, 2026
Cleveland's Powerful Long Ladder has joined forces to bring Italy's acclaimed theatre company's production of Wilson's classic to the community in Mobile, Alabama, during its Gulf Coast tour.

MORE INFORMATION COMING SOON

Powerful Long Ladder Site
www.powerfullongladder.com

Congratulations to Powerful Long Ladder theatre company founder, Terrence Spivey and the other selected recipients we have admired in there fields, being honored, such as Cleveland legends, news anchor Danita Harris, storyteller Iya Yvetta Eley, radio personality Sam Sylk and many more.

The Ancestral Remembrance Gala on Sunday, February 21, 2027 at the historical Maltz Performing Arts Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

www.powerfullongladder.com

Congratulations to Powerful Long Ladder founder and award-winning director, Terrence Spivey. He is being honored the Malcolm X Creative Visionary Award at The Annual Ancestral Remembrance Gala on Sunday, February 21, 2027, 3:00 PM until 7:00 PM, at Cleveland's beautiful, historic Maltz Performing Arts Center.

On behalf of Powerful Long Ladder, we would like to thank the event founder Dr. La'Tia Phillips-Bey and her Project Beautiful organization for recognizing Mr. Spivey, who continues to use art as a platform to reflect the human condition, unapologetically.

Powerful Long Ladder made theatre history in May 2026 being one of three companies out of three major Midwest cities to bring a foreign language production of an August Wilson play to the U.S.. Italy's Sardegna Teatro production of Jitney with a Black-Italian cast was presented at Treelawn in Cleveland's rising Waterloo Arts District. The international collaboration garnered news in the NY Times and other publications.

Spivey is former artistic director of Karamu House in 2003-2016, staging thought provoking works winning accolades for the historical institution such as the AUDELCO 2013 Repertory Company of the Year Award in New York City. He is responsible for reviving the moribund reputation of the legendary Black theater during his tenure. He is a native of Kountze, Texas and relocated to Houston. Studied theatre at under the guidance of legends, playwright Ted Shine and director Clarance Lee Turner at Prairie View A&M University. Started his career in New York City.

https://case.edu/maltzcenter/calendar-events/concerts-events-silver-hall/ancestral-remembrance-gala

This extraordinary evening also celebrates living legacies, visionary leaders, artists, healers, innovators, and change-makers who continue to uplift and transform our communities through purpose, excellence, and service.

Join us for an unforgettable evening of culture, legacy, elegance, inspiration, healing, and love as we celebrate the ancestors whose shoulders we stand upon and the living legacies who continue to shape the world around us.

www.powerfullongladder.com

Local arts groups that shape community culture face financial pressure Larger theater companies, venues and museums typically get more attention. But in cities and rural areas, it’s smaller arts organizations that are closest to and address the needs of their communities. Now, many are struggling as they face economic pressures. Jeffrey Brown reports for our Art in A...

Italy's 🇮🇹 Sardegna Teatro production of August Wilson's JITNEY, in Italian, traveled the U.S. 🇺🇲 for the first time, vowing crowds in three Midwest theatres 🎭 this past spring; The Black Rep (St. Louis), Powerful Long Ladder (Cleveland) and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theatre Company (Pittsburgh).

Photo Credit: Vince Robinson

Stay tuned for Jitney's next stop.

www.powerfullongladder.com

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