If anyone needs to consider whether August Wilson may have been America’s greatest playwright of the Twentieth Century, please go to the Black Rep’s production of Fences at Washington University’s Edison Theatre.
The Black Rep was the first theatre to perform the entire Pittsburgh Cycle, ten works from Wilson, one each for a century’s worth of decades, about the black experience in America. Obviously, they’ve had long experience with his work. In 2000, they staged Fences, the play which takes place in the Fifties, and got excellent reviews for it.. With the current staging, they clearly haven’t lost their touch.
Troy Maxson (Ron Himes) works for a company that hauls trash, one of the guys that dumps the cans into the back of the company trucks. Why, he’s asked his boss, are all the drivers white guys? The boss sent him to his union, and that’s where matters lie when the play opens one payday Friday. Troy and his buddy Bono (Robert Alan Mitchell) have gotten off work. They go waaaay back together, and the camaraderie is well-played between the two.
Troy’s wife Rose (Linda Kennedy) just rolls her eyes and shakes her head at the two, but seems clearly fond of her husband. He declares she’s the best thing in his life. Troy has two sons, Lyons (Stephen Maurice) from his first relationship, who’s in his 30’s and a musician, and Cory (Brian McKinley), by Rose, who’s being scouted for his football talents by a college team. Troy’s not happy about that – he played baseball in the Negro Leagues but major league ball was still segregated. His resentment over his exclusion flames up frequently, far deeper than “I coulda been a contender”, pace Budd Schulberg. In general, Troy is an old-style dad appropriate for that time frame, offering instruction and discipline but not much praise.
Without giving the story away for those who haven’t seen it – or have forgotten – sufficient to say that it all goes awry in the second act. The story, that is. The acting reaches maximum strength. Himes is at the peak of his power as Maxson, strong and filled with pain, a remarkable performance. Kennedy, reprising her role after eighteen years, gathers steam more slowly, as the character rises, but goes head to head with him and more than holds her own. It’s an immensely powerful pairing.
Good supporting work from Mitchell, always a pleasure to watch, and McKinley, as well as Richard Agnes, as Gabe, Troy’s disabled brother, and Lyons. Also great fun, and someone to watch for a long time to come, is Lena Williams, who plays Raynelle. She arrives in the second act, not only poised but very cute indeed, despite her character’s reluctance to change her shoes.
Lorna Littleway directed this fine piece of work, with a good set from Jim Burwinkel, another returnee from the previous production, lighting from Joseph W. Clapper, and sound (some great jazz setting us up and in the intermission, too) from Kareem Deanes.
An excellent rendition of an American classic.
Fences
through January 21
The Black Rep
Edison Theatre at Washington University in St. Louis
314-534-3807
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