The car service office is run by Becker (Andre L. Gainey), a kind and proud man who has owned the business for 18 years. Becker’s got a lot on his mind: His location is about to be boarded up in the name of urban renewal, and his once-promising son Booster (Summer Hill Seven) is coming home from prison after doing 20 years for murder.

Jitney is part of Wilson’s 10-play Pittsburgh Cycle — Wilson wrote a play set in each decade of the 20th century to chronicle life in America for blacks — and M Ensemble has committed to producing every single one. More than a representation of life in Pittsburgh in the late 1970s, Jitney is about change. Everything is in flux — the neighborhood, the men’s situations and the times in which they live.

Director John Pryor has all the pieces available to put together a fine production: Tramaine Berryhill’s set is rich in details, but appropriately shabby without veering into shabby chic; Apon Nichols’ lighting imbues atmosphere; and the cast, despite a few missteps, forms a tight ensemble. While Atkins reveals a deft comic touch and Wade’s performance is a study in quiet dignity, Gainey stands out. He has the face for Becker, and shows a lifetime of hard work and heartbreak in his tired expression.

The cool thing about Jitney is that it’s a real slice of life, simple and messy. There are no easy answers, no happy endings, just the certainty that life will go on, in one way or another.