HOUSTON -- Floyd "Schoolboy" Baron, the musician-cum-hustler at the center of two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson's Seven Guitars, continuing at the Alley Theatre in Houston through March 14, isn't the only one who can play the blues. Courtesy of a free contest, seven lucky people will win guitars similar to the one the lead character covets. Patrons can register in the Large Stage lobby of the Alley Theatre and at Evans Music City, a local business donating the guitars. No purchase is required at either to enter. Winners will be notified by phone beginning Monday, March 16. The guitars are acoustic Yamaha models valued at more than $400 each, a price that would surely make the strapped Schoolboy swoon.

A co-production with Seattle Repertory Theatre (where it played this past January), Seven Guitars continues Wilson's exploration of the African-American experience decade by decade in the twentieth century. This addition to the cycle takes place in Pittsburgh, 1948, as Schoolboy pursues a recording contract in Chicago, with friends, lovers, and band mates part of the action.

Seven Guitars continues through March 14 at the Alley Theatre in Houston. For tickets, $31-$46, call (713) 228-8421.