Reviewed by Judy Richter
It's a powerfully written, powerfully produced drama focusing on a struggling black family in Pittsburgh starting in 1957 and continuing through 1965.
The central character is 53-year-old Troy Maxson (Aldo Billingslea), a garbage collector married to Rose (Margo Hall). Their son, Cory (J. Alphonse Nicholson), is a high school student who plays football. Troy has another son, 34-year-old aspiring musician Lyons (Lance Gardner), from an earlier relationship. He lives elsewhere.
Completing the family circle is Troy's brother, Gabriel (Donald E. Lacy Jr.), who was seriously injured in war, leaving him mentally impaired. He lives nearby. Troy's best friend and co-worker is Bono (Guiesseppe Jones).
Troy was quite the baseball player in his younger years, but racial barriers kept him from the major leagues where he could make more money. Even though times have changed since then, he refuses to allow Cory to go to college on a football scholarship. He thinks race will be a barrier again. The escalating father-son conflict results in Cory's being kicked out of the house.
Another major crisis arises when Troy tells Rose that an affair with another woman has resulted in pregnancy. Rose's reaction is among the most wrenching scenes in the play. Although Troy has said all along that he loves her, his betrayal and excuse for it are too much for her to take.
The concept of responsibility crops up throughout the play. Its presence or lack in a character is a primary motivator of actions.
Director Raelle Myrick-Hodges elicits tour-de-force performances from both Billingslea as the flawed Troy and Hall as the loyal Rose, leaving the audience rapt through each scene.
All of the other actors in this ensemble cast create indelible characters, too.
Artistic values are strong with the set by Michael Locher, costumes by Alina Bokovikova and sound by Mikaal Sulaiman. Lighting by Xavier Pierce was not a factor in the reviewed matinee.
Wilson wrote this play as part of a cycle of 10 plays chronicling the black experience in the 20th century, decade by decade. Most of them take place in Pittsburgh.
"Fences" is the first of his plays to be staged by Cal Shakes. This milestone event stands as another major success for the company.