August Wilson's new play, Seven Guitars, got predominantly strongly positive reviews in its March 28 Broadway debut.

Vincent Canby in the New York Times "Here is a play whose epic proportions and abundant spirit remind us of what the American theater once was . . . and still is when the muses can be heard through the din. Not since Mr. Wilson's own Two Trains Running and Tony Kushner's Angels in America has Broadway seemed quite so alive."

Here is a sampling from other positive reviews:

* "A shadowy, beautifully acted production. Although [Wilson] writes entirely different characters from play to play, decade to decade, in his great cycle of the African-American 20th Century, his men and women have established a tone, a style, a credibility so genuine and alive that their world seems to continue whether we are there or not. We have come to be grateful for the privilege of sharing, even luxuriating, in the special music of their conversations." -- Linda Winer, Newsday

. . * "If August Wilson's plays feel like jazz, Seven Guitars is alike a muted trumped in the wee hours. Unlike some of his other plays, where the riffs are dazzling and the energy explosive, this one is full of quiet truth." -- Howard Kissel, New York Daily News Seven Guitars opened at Broadway Walter Kerr Theatre, having been developed in productions in Connecticut, Chicago and Los Angeles, during which its running time was reduced from four hours 15 minutes to the current three hours and 10 minutes.