Some 56 artists will descend on D.C. this week for "August Wilson's 20th Century," the Kennedy Center's five-week, $3.5 million tribute to the late writer.

The season will feature fully staged readings in repertory of all 10 works in his American cycle, the first such presentation of the plays on a single stage. An additional week was recently added to the sked so that all 10 can be presented in chronological order.

The project includes 41 actors playing 77 characters, many of them Wilson veterans such as Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Harry Lennix, Anthony Chisholm, Tamara Tunie and Anthony Mackie. Eleventh-hour substitutions include Louis Gossett Jr., who was inked last week to play in "Fences." He replaces Charles S. Dutton, who ankled the cast earlier because of a film commitment.

Director Kenny Leon has been tapped to oversee the March 4-April 6 tribute at the Center's 500-seat Terrace Theater. Leon will stage "Gem of the Ocean," "The Piano Lesson" and "Fences." Other directors include Todd Kreidler, Lou Bellamy, Derrick Sanders, Israel Hicks, Gordon Davidson and Santiago-Hudson.

"It's an artistic imperative to look at these plays as part of a whole rather than as separate pieces," says Kennedy Center president Michael Kaiser. "By presenting the entire cycle, we will see how Wilson traces the African-American experience through the 20th century."

While the center's box office reports that to date only 100 people have anted up for the full marathon at a $65 top (no package discounts), ticket sales for individual shows have been brisk. "Fences," perhaps Wilson's best-known play, and "Radio Golf," which has not yet played D.C., have registered the first sellouts. Each play will receive four readings during the run.

The idea of presenting Wilson's decade-by-decade tour was conceived several years ago by Kennedy Center staffers, who viewed it as a suitable project for the National Center for the Performing Arts. But since fully staged productions would be impractical, and would not give auds a complete sense of Wilson's art given the limited time frame, they opted for the staged readings format with costumes, lighting and scenery.

The Catherine Reynolds Foundation stepped up with its annual $1 million programming grant, and other fund-raising ensued.

A limited rehearsal process of less than one week will force actors and directors to strictly emphasize the text. That's good, believes director Sanders, who is staging "Seven Guitars" and "King Hedley II." "Audiences will appreciate the purity of Wilson's text, especially its emphasis on language, poetry, character relationships and symbolism," he says.

Wilson's passion and his ability to capture "the heart and soul of America in a particular time" will also be brought into focus, Sanders adds. "And regardless of the struggles that the characters go through, there is always a welcome ray of hope at the end."