AugustWilson.net
Fences
Review by Anna Ditkoff
Baltimore City Paper Online.
All Rights Reserved.
Fences, the 1950s entry in August Wilson's cycle of decade-by-decade depictions of African-American families in the 20th century, smolders with frustration. Patriarch Troy Maxson is a sanitation worker who still fumes over not being able to play professional baseball because he was too old by the time the major leagues opened up to black players. This dashed dream colors Troy's entire life and the lives of all in his family. Everyman Theatre's current production, directed by Jennifer Nelson, captures the slow-burn quality of Fences, letting things build until you're so engrossed that only the bows at the end shatter the illusion.
As it must be in any play this character-driven, the actors are the ones who pull you in, and Everyman's cast for this production is stellar from top to bottom. Frederick Strother has the daunting task of making sure the alternately jovial and despotic Troy never becomes simply an ogre; Strother walks this fine line, making Troy easy to hate but impossible to stay mad at. As Rose, Troy's wife, Aakhu Freeman is the picture of quiet suffering and the desperate need to make the best out of everything; her evenness is a perfect match to Strother's constant vacillations, grounding the play just as her character grounds the Maxson family. Lance Williams brings the perfect combination of hopefulness, fear, and anger to his portrayal of Troy's son Cory, whose chances of going to college on a football scholarship are undermined by his father. Kevin Jiggetts' performance as Troy's eldest son, Lyons, is pleasantly light, a welcome respite from Fences' almost overwhelming darkness. Keith Johnson does an excellent turn as Troy's mentally ill brother, Gabriel, and S. Robert Morgan deftly dispenses wisdom from behind a stutter as Troy's friend Bono.
Everyman's Fences only missteps when the quiet desperation of these beautifully depicted characters erupts. Freeman's Rose rings less true during her outburst at Troy, even though her character has ample grounds for being upset, and when Cory swings at his father, it looks far too fake for a play whose strength is its realism. Despite these minor problems, Fences is as powerfully affecting and complex as the struggling family it depicts.
_________________________________________________________________
All original information on this site is protected by copyright and belongs to its respective owners.