The Aurora Fox Arts Center will open its 42nd season with one of the most celebrated works in American theater: August Wilson’s “Two Trains Running,” on stage from Feb. 4 to 21, 2027. The production offers a powerful exploration of legacy, community and the enduring resonance of Wilson’s American Century Cycle.
Directed by award‑winning filmmaker, producer and theater artist donnie l. betts, “Two Trains Running” brings Wilson’s 1960s Hill District to vivid life. “I never imagined I would have the chance to direct August Wilson’s work after admiring it as a graduate student. Directing ‘Gem of the Ocean’ and ‘Two Trains Running’ is an honor, and I do not take it lightly,” betts said.
betts is a founding member of Denver’s City Stage Ensemble and creator of the acclaimed radio series Destination Freedom: Black Radio Days, and has built a national career illuminating stories of African American history, culture and resilience through film, theater and audio storytelling.
“In a bit of kismet, donnie and I were students at the Yale School of Drama when August Wilson and Lloyd Richards premiered ‘Two Trains Running’ at the Yale Repertory Theatre,” said Aurora Fox Interim Director Lisa Rigsby Peterson. “Their partnership produced a landmark work that still resonates today as we confront questions of generational injustice and urban redevelopment. Wilson’s inimitable style — unforgettable characters, poetic and blunt language and vivid stories of the Black experience in America — makes this play essential for us to produce.”
Set in a Pittsburgh coffee shop in the 1960s, “Two Trains Running” unfolds in Memphis Lee’s restaurant — a gathering place for a host of regulars navigating a neighborhood on the brink of redevelopment. Among them: a local intellectual, an elderly man who claims to have learned life’s secrets from a 322-year-old sage, an ex-con, a numbers runner, a sharp-tongued waitress and a developmentally disabled man once cheated out of a ham. With Chekhovian subtlety, Wilson reveals the hopes, disappointments and quiet resilience of a community facing profound change.
The play was a 1992 Pulitzer Prize finalist, earned four Tony Award nominations and further cemented Wilson — recipient of the 1986 Whiting Award for Drama — as one of the most influential playwrights in American history. “Two Trains Running” is the seventh chapter in Wilson’s 10-play American Century Cycle, a decade-by-decade chronicle of African American life in the 20th century.
August Wilson’s “Two Trains Running” is not part of a subscription package. Current Season 41 Flexpass holders receive early access from Oct. 15 to 19, before public sales begin Oct. 20 with early-bird pricing.
Based on recent patron‑survey feedback, the Aurora Fox is expanding ticketing options and developing additional 2027 productions and programming that reflect the community’s call for bold, diverse and locally rooted storytelling. Tickets and information are available at AuroraFoxArtsCenter.org or by calling the box office at 303.739.1970.
About the Aurora Fox Arts Center
Located in the heart of the Aurora Cultural Arts District, the historic Aurora Fox Arts Center is a vibrant hub for artistic expression, presenting diverse stories that inspire and engage the community. Built in 1946 as Aurora’s only movie palace, the Fox was restored after a devastating fire and reopened in 1985 as a city owned performing arts center. Today, the Aurora Fox is an award-winning professional theater featuring a 217-seat proscenium stage, including five wheelchair accessible seats, and a 72-seat black box studio. In 2025, the Aurora Fox Arts Center went into renovations that included replacing its 40-year-old seats with new, historically accurate seating, improving comfort and auditorium access, new carpet and expanded ADA compliant seating. Additional accessibility initiatives include American Sign Language interpreted performances and tailored programming for school aged students and older adults.
About the Director
donnie l. betts, whose work spans stage, film and radio, is a founding member of the Denver Black Arts Company and a longtime member of the Denver Center Theatre Company. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communications from Metropolitan State University of Denver and later studied at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University. He founded No Credits Productions in 1995 and has produced nationally recognized documentaries, including “Dearfield: The Road Less Traveled” and “Music Is My Life, Politics My Mistress: The Story of Oscar Brown Jr.” He also produces, writes and directs the audio series “Destination Freedom: Black Radio Days.” At the Aurora Fox, betts has previously directed “Toni Stone,” “Gem of the Ocean,” “Gee’s Bend” and “Fat Ham,” continuing his commitment to storytelling that uplifts history, community and culture.
About August Wilson’s American Century Cycle
August Wilson’s ten play cycle chronicles African American life across each decade of the 20th century. Celebrated for its depth, musicality and cultural impact, the cycle remains one of the most significant bodies of work in American theater.