Philadelphia Theatre Company ends its 21st season on a high note with the Philadelphia premiere of August Wilson's Seven Guitars, June 4 29.

Seven Guitars received a 1996 Tony nomination for a Best Play, after touring major regional theatres around the country. It revolves around Floyd "Schoolboy" Barton, an African American musician fresh out of jail and penniless in post World War II Pittsburgh. Floyd fantasizes that his hit blues song will bring him enough success to transfer him from his small town community of friends and neighbors to the promise and prosperity of Chicago city life .

Wilson is well known for his Pulitzer Prize-winning plays Fences and The Piano Lesson. His other works include Two Trains Running, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Jitney,which is being currently developed for Broadway.

Directing Guitars is Seret Scott, who recently directed the American Premiere of Joy Luck Club at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, CT. She has also directed productions at Off-Broadway’s Second Stage, and at several regional theatres around the U.S.

The majority of Guitars’ cast is comprised of experienced actors who have performed in other Wilson plays. Lester Purry (Floyd), has starred in several Wilson productions regionally, and most recently starred in Baltimore’s Center Stage’s premiere of Kieth Glover’s Thunder Knocking at My Door. Ray Ahrna (Hedley) starred in Fences on Broadway, and Off-Broadway in The Shattering and Black Ink: Life By Asphyxiation. Known for his roles on TV’s “Married People” and in the films Dead Man Walking and City Hall, Arhna is also a playwright. Tracey Copland will be reprising the role of Ruby, which she understudied on Broadway. Michael Genet (Canewell) performed on Broadway in A Few Good Men and Hamlet.

Roz Ryan (Louise) appeared on Broadway in Dreamgirls and Ain't Misbehaven. Most recently she appeared in the world premiere of Violets at the Playwright's Horizon, and her voice is featured in the new Disney animated musical Hercules.

Other cast members include Gwendolyn Mulamba, Lester Purry, and Ron Bobb-Semple.

For tickets or more information to the Philadelphia premiere of Seven Guitars, call (215) 735-0631, or refer to the Philadelphia Theatre Company regional listing on Playbill On-Line.