Harry Lennix Brings August Wilson’s Legacy to Life in ‘How I Learned What I Learned’

To understand the gravity, privilege and importance of a play by August Wilson about August Wilson, imagine if Shakespeare had also written about Shakespeare.& That’s precisely what Chicago audiences will get when Wilson’s autobiographical, one-man show “How I Learned What I Learned” plays at the Broadway Playhouse at Water Tower Place (175 E. Chestnut St) from this Sunday, April 20 to May 5. That Shakespeare analogy is courtesy of the esteemed Chicag-bred actor Harry Lennix, who is set to play Wilson in “How I Learned What I Learned” for its limited Chicago run.& “If Shakespeare had written the play about being a young Shakespeare, everybody would want to see that; they would want to have access to that,” said Lennix in an interview with The Chicago Defender.& The actor revealed that he didn’t even know “How I Learned What I Learned” even existed until the Congo Square Theatre asked him to star in it.& Indeed, the Chicago-based Congo Square Theatre Company is celebrating its 25th season with the Chicago premiere of this production. When it was co-founded by Derrick Sanders and Reginald Nelson in 1999, Wilson was one of the company’s biggest supporters.& “How I Learned What I Learned” represents...