[Some of his characters were underdeveloped, to the extent that their speeches could be (and sometimes were, in Wilson's habitual frequent rewrites) interchanged. His dramatic structures and even his use of the musical powers of African American idioms were fairly old-fashioned compared with the exciting adventurousness of Suzan-Lori Parks. But even his traditionalism could be seen as a source of strength.] He was writing in the grand tradition of Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, ... the politically engaged, direct, social-realist drama. He was reclaiming ground for the theater that most people thought had been abandoned.