A FITTING ENDING WITH `RADIO GOLF'.

Byline: Evan Henerson Theater Critic

FOLLOWERS of August Wilson may detect some artful symmetry in ``Radio Golf,'' the concluding entry of Wilson's 10-play cycle chronicling the experiences of blacks in America during the 20th century. The cycle began inside the Hill District home of Aunt Ester in ``Gem of the Ocean,'' and, with ``Radio Golf,'' ends 93 years later as the impending destruction of that house signals more than a simple wind of change. Somehow we have ended up back where we started.

Now, Wilson is nobody's idea of a tidy playwright. His plots are slight and self-contained; his characters are ramblers and meanderers incarnate. They sit, talk, recollect and occasionally rage. They've lived full lives, rarely accomplishing much.

However, the structural neatness of ``Radio Golf,'' which opened Wednesday at the Mark Taper Forum, is unusual and somehow satisfying. The work feels like its author is trying to bring things to a fitting end while still allowing his characters room to stretch, to be themselves. The plot bends and molds its way around them rather than the reverse.

Archetypal characters from across Wilson's works - men both wayward and progressive - wander in and out of the redevelopment office that is ``Radio Golf's'' home base. Sometimes they agree. More often they clash, threatening to fight but never coming to blows. And sometimes they even manage to discover hidden familial links. Under the direction of Kenny Leon, performers Rocky Carroll, John Earl Jelks, Anthony Chisholm, James A. Williams and Denise Burse act the stuffing out of them.

On the progressive side of the tally sheet is real-estate agent Harmond Wilks (played by Carroll): liked, respected, with Hill District ties and about to run for mayor. His right-hand man, business partner Roosevelt Hicks (Williams), is looking to push the company's development plan forward no matter what the cost to the neighborhood. The plan calls for a designation of urban blight, followed by bulldozers, Starbucks, Whole Foods and luxury apartments. Hicks loves golf; not necessarily a mark of honor.

Returning, quite literally from the past, is Elder Joseph Barlow (Chisholm) who claims Aunt Ester's house on Wylie Avenue - which sits squarely in the middle of the proposed development and is slated for demolition - belongs to him, not to Bedford Hills Development. He's looking to stay, not sell. Sterling Johnson (Jelks) agrees and is willing to repaint the house and fight for its preservation. Harmond, a natural peacekeeper, is divided, especially when further investigation shows that Barlow's claim has deeper implications for the Wilks family.

How well Wilson knows these people, and how beautifully he acquaints - and reacquaints - us with their language and manners. Any significant actions take place outside Harmond Wilks' office (constructed by David Gallo as a tidy urban storefront fringed by decay), but the rich interactions between Harmond and Roosevelt, between Harmond and Barlow, and between Roosevelt and Sterling carry the weight of great drama.

Wilson writes with music behind his words, particularly for characters of an older age. It's notable in the gruff rasp and patter of Chisholm's Barlow, who teeters between dementia and dignity, and in Jelks' smart and dangerous Sterling Johnson, a character who knows more than you think he would. Even Roosevelt, unfairly ending up as a heavy, has some great speeches.

Unlike Wilson's earlier plays, there are no ghosts in ``Radio Golf,'' only the echo of Wilson's previous works. 1839 Wylie Ave. may or may not endure. The play that celebrates both the building and all that it stands for figures to be around for quite some time.

Evan Henerson, [phone]

evan.henerson(at)dailynews.com

RADIO GOLF - Three and one half stars

Where: Mark Taper Forum, 135 N. Grand Ave., Los Angeles.

When: 8 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, 2:30 and 8 p.m. Saturday, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday; through Sept. 18.

Tickets: $34 to $52. [phone].

In a nutshell: Rich characters and language signal vintage August Wilson.

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Photo:

August Wilson's ``Radio Golf'' features Rocky Carroll, left, as a real-estate agent on the rise, and John Earl Jelks as one of the men trying to stop a development in their community.