The Actors' Group continues its annual exploration of August Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle with "Jitney," directed by Derrick Brown.

Set in 1977, the play fits late in the chronology of the 10-play cycle, but was written early by Wilson and rings with the passion of a young playwright looking for a voice.

So it's understandable that "Jitney" unfolds as a collection of voices — seven men and one woman — who express the yearning and frustration of the African-American experience but are only incidentally joined by the fragment of a plot.

Becker (Jim Andrews) and his son Booster (Billy Hall) are the central roles, but their interaction — like that of many of the supporting characters — occurs in isolated monologues. In a series of long set speeches, they mark out their separate and opposing turf and rub raw edges against each other without coming to closure.

Becker runs the gypsy cab company that services Black neighborhoods avoided by conventional taxis. He is a stiff-backboned, principled man who expects others to abide by his posted rules, "no overcharging, keep your car clean, no drinking and be courteous." Son Booster has just been released after serving 20 years in prison for murder.

Surrounding them are a young couple (F. Quenton Collins and Kesha Diodato) who are in love without having learned to deal with each other, and a collection of cab drivers led by director Brown as Turnbo — a threatening and wonderfully comic busybody.

With the cab company's building scheduled for demolition and the sudden reappearance of Booster, everyone's life is about to change.

The production has some awkwardness — brought about by a series of interchanging two-character scenes and only a single entrance to the playing area — and some stiffness occasioned by the long monologues.

But when it works, as it does often, it works wonderfully well.

The scene that closes Act One establishes the core of the play.

Becker is steadfast despite life's unremitting grind: "You wake up one day and all you got left is what you ain't spent." But he remains full of searing disappointment with Booster, pouring it out in unending waves of accusation, "What have I got? A murderer!"

As counterpoint, Turnbo's repeated probes into other peoples' business supply the play's best dialogue and its only laughs.

In an ensemble effort filled with excellent work from the entire cast, it is Andrews' performance that grounds and deepens the production and Brown's performance that lightens and expands it.

"Jitney" is a strong, loose script excellently served by its cast.