Crime in the City
Set in Pittsburgh in 1983, this play occurs right in the midst of an economic crisis, just as the trickle-down wealth concept was proving over-ambitious. King, Mister, Elmore, Stool Pigeon, and even Leroy all engage in criminal activity. They also all belong to the working class, are African American men, and cannot find steady work. When a society becomes increasingly stratified according to wealth, the people on the lower end of the spectrum start believing the system is corrupt. In fact this is exactly King's assertion when Tonya begs him to stop selling the stolen refrigerators. He believes he has no choice but to engage in crime because there's no legal way for him to earn money.
Because they live in a bustling city, this stratification becomes especially visible. There may be an elegant jewelry store in a lively shopping district one block away from a ghetto. Living so close to wealth but unable to touch it or to expect any changes, the working class folks like King and Mister begin to convince themselves that theft and scams are a form of social justice, like in the story of Robin Hood.
Suspicion
Another dominant theme in this play is the suspicion of the characters of one another. Since they're criminals, there's a natural layer of paranoia which the men carry. They may be caught by police at any given moment, so they are guarded men. Additionally, however, characters like Elmore carry grudges. Elmore is a highly suspicious person, but this is probably for good reason. He's also a swindler, constantly trying to get one up on his companions, so he must suspect the worst of the people around him because that's what he's giving them: his worst.
This particular brand of suspicion, born of the paranoia of not being able to rely upon the law or upon one another, erodes trust like acid. For example, King does not trust Tonya to follow through with the abortion. He even refuses to believe her when she cries and says she's already done it. Within their marriage there is no trust because King remains always on guard. He doesn't trust Elmore, suspecting he will try to woo his wife and sleep with her. Similarly, Tonya credits King with no loyalty, considering he doesn't accept her advice, ignores her feelings, and continually takes reckless risks.
Violence
Within the stratified system already established, there is an undercurrent of violence. Trapped in close proximity to so many volatile people, King and Mister and Elmore feel keenly their testosterone-fueled urge to lash out at people. By the time Stool Pigeon introduces a weapon tot he mix, there have already been several secret conversations about hypothetical violence. Tonya and Ruby remain adamantly opposed to these punitive, primitive plans, so it is sadly ironic when Ruby is the one to shoot King. She, however, demonstrates no qualms about becoming engaged to Elmore, even though she knows definitively that he is a murderer. Then, again, so his her son, King, although he's come to recognize his past actions as a mistake. In their world, violence seems inevitable.
