August Wilson is such a brilliant writer, even his superfluous dialogue in satisfying. Multi Ethnic Theater is presenting Radio Golf, the final play in Wilson's ten play cycle based on the African-American experience in the 20th century. Yale Repertory Theatre and the Mark Taper Forum shared the debut of this play in 2005, and Wilson died later the same year.

In the intimate space at PianoFight, this production is a mind-blowing experience. It is an in-your-face drama presented by five superb actors and directed beautifully by Gloria Weinstock.

Harmond Wilkes (Geoffrey Grier), the successful proprietor of a real estate agency, has great plans with his friend and business partner Roosevelt Hicks (Gift Harris) to redevelop the Hill District in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It's 1997 and Harmond seems all set to be elected mayor of the city. He has the steadfast support of his wife Mame (Nichole Harley). There is only problem: cantankerous Elder Joseph Barlow (Kevin Johnson) claims he still owns the abandoned house once the home of now deceased spiritual matriarch Aunt Ester (who is featured in other Wilson plays, most predominantly in Gem of the Ocean). Harmon must face a choice: to continue as planned or do what is right and deal with the consequences. The fifth participant in this magnificent drama is construction worker Sterling Johnson (Vernon Medearis), who is a character all to himself.

Elder Joseph Barlow is also known at Old Joe and he speaks the poetry of August Wilson, while Harmond and Roosevelt speak in more modern terms. Old Joe and Sterling prove that, beneath wide smiles and an entertaining bizarreness, there is a basis of steel, and solid understanding of who one is and where one comes from.

August Wilson has given the actors more than language. They have complex personalities capable of changing while we watch. In a dynamic and congenial performance, Kevin Johnson is outstanding as the spirted patriarch Barlow. His speeches are classic August Wilson monologues. Vernon Medearis gives a superb performance as neighborhood handyman Sterling Johnson, who claims to be a one-man union. Medearis offers one his best performances ever, telling us with his eyes that he's witnessed some crimes that others dare to call "history."

Geoffrey Grier is charismatic as Harmond Wilks. He gives a powerful performance as a man on the move to becoming the first African-American mayor of Pittsburgh. Gift Harris is energetic and forceful as Roosevelt Hicks. He is compelled by the American dream of limitless income. Rounding out the cast is Nicole Harley who nicely plays Mame.

Director Gloria Weinstock does not shy away from the play's connections to Wilson's previous works. It's sharp and incisive. Lewis Campbell's hyper-realistic set of the redeveloped office in the Hill District for the intimate stage is amazing.

Multi Ethnic Theater's Radio Golf, through September 9, 2017, at PianoFight, 144 Taylor Street, San Francisco through. Tickets and information at www.wehavemet.org.