Brilliant, Brilliant, Brilliant!
With Denzel, Viola and a terrific cast, August Wilson’s “Fences” is BRILLIANT!
The action takes place during the 1950’s in the usual location for Wilson’s plays, the Hill District of Pittsburgh, where many southern blacks migrated to settle and find work. It’s tale of former baseball player Troy Maxon’s lost dreams and how that loss effected his life and those that surrounded it is still relevant and powerful today. This current production has been nominated for several Tony‘s, Best Revival of a Play, Lead Actor for Mr Washington and Lead Actress for Ms Davis.
As I have posted several times, August Wilson, (1945-2005) is one of my favorite playwrights. His plays speak to the varied layers and stages of the human condition which I think makes his work so emotionally available to all. He wrote a play for every decade of the last century to chronicle how black people dealt with their hopes and dreams – deferred or not. How changes in daily life, and in the world, are met with humor, determination and courage by everyday folks is a universal theme and not just for people of color. “Change” and all that it creates and/or destroys affects everyone.
I’ll be watching and rooting for this very satisfying play by one of my favorite playwrights.
FYI – The original production of “Fences” won the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize in 1985.
The image below is a poster from 1985 – starring James Earl Jones and Mary Alice (I love them too) 
Tags: August Wilson, Denzel Washington, Fences, james earl jones, mary alice, tony nominated, Viola Davis
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