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The focus of Wilson's attention in ''Fences'' is Troy, a 53 year-old [[working-class]] head of household who struggles with providing for his family. The play takes place in [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]; although never officially named, it makes mention of several key locations in Pittsburgh. In his younger days, Troy was an excellent player in [[Negro league baseball]] and continued practicing baseball while serving time in prison for a murder he had committed during a robbery. Because the color barrier had not yet been broken in [[Major League Baseball]], Troy was unable to get into the MLB to make good money or to save for the future. He now lives a menial, though respectable, [[Blue-collar worker|blue-collar]] life of trash collecting; later in the play, he remarkably crosses the race barrier and becomes the first black truck driver in Pittsburgh instead of just a barrel lifter.
The focus of Wilson's attention in ''Fences'' is Troy, a 53 year-old [[working-class]] head of household who struggles with providing for his family. The play takes place in [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]]; although never officially named, it makes mention of several key locations in Pittsburgh. In his younger days, Troy was an excellent player in [[Negro league baseball]] and continued practicing baseball while serving time in prison for a murder he had committed during a robbery. Because the color barrier had not yet been broken in [[Major League Baseball]], Troy was unable to get into the MLB to make good money or to save for the future. He now lives a menial, though respectable, [[Blue-collar worker|blue-collar]] life of trash collecting; later in the play, he remarkably crosses the race barrier and becomes the first black truck driver in Pittsburgh instead of just a barrel lifter.


Troy lives with his wife, Rose, and his teenage son, Cory. He has a younger brother, Gabe, a [[World War II]] veteran whose war injury to his head has caused him noticeable psychological damage. Gabe had received $5,000 from the government, and Troy took control of this money to purchase a home for his family, including a room for Gabe. A short time before the play's opening, Gabriel has rented a room elsewhere, but still in the neighborhood. Lyons is Troy's older son from a previous marriage, and lives outside the home. Bono is Troy's best friend and co-worker.
Troy lives with his wife, Rose, and their teenage son, Cory. He has a younger brother, Gabe, a [[World War II]] veteran whose war injury to his head has caused him noticeable psychological damage. Gabe had received $5,000 from the government, and Troy took control of this money to purchase a home for his family, including a room for Gabe. A short time before the play's opening, Gabriel has rented a room elsewhere, but still in the neighborhood. Lyons is Troy's older son from a previous marriage, and lives outside the home. Bono is Troy's best friend and co-worker.


The play begins on payday, with Troy and Bono drinking and talking. Troy's character is revealed through his speech about how he went up to their boss, Mr. Rand, and asked why [[African-American]] men are not allowed to drive garbage trucks; Rose and Lyons join in the conversation. Lyons, a musician, has come to borrow money from Troy, confident that he will receive it, and promises to pay him back because his girlfriend Bonnie just got a job. Troy, who is a rigid believer in hard work and responsibility, belittles his son because he refuses to find a real job, as Troy did, rather than pursuing his dream of becoming a musician.
The play begins on payday, with Troy and Bono drinking and talking. Troy's character is revealed through his speech about how he went up to their boss, Mr. Rand, and asked why [[African-American]] men are not allowed to drive garbage trucks; Rose and Lyons join in the conversation. Lyons, a musician, has come to borrow money from Troy, confident that he will receive it, and promises to pay him back because his girlfriend Bonnie just got a job. Troy, who is a rigid believer in hard work and responsibility, belittles his son because he refuses to find a real job, as Troy did, rather than pursuing his dream of becoming a musician.

Revision as of 04:36, 14 July 2024

Fences
Written byAugust Wilson
Characters
  • Troy Maxson
  • Rose Maxson
  • Cory Maxson
  • Jim Bono
  • Gabriel Maxson
  • Lyons Maxson
  • Raynell Maxson
Date premiered1985
Place premieredEugene O'Neill Theater Center
Waterford, Connecticut
Original languageEnglish
SeriesThe Pittsburgh Cycle
SubjectA Negro baseball league player is now a garbageman; his bitterness affects his loved ones
GenreDrama, Fiction
Setting1957, in a backyard of a house in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Fences is a 1985 play by the American playwright August Wilson. Set in the 1950s, it is the sixth in Wilson's ten-part "Pittsburgh Cycle". Like all of the "Pittsburgh" plays, Fences explores the evolving African-American experience and examines race relations, among other themes. The play won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 1987 Tony Award for Best Play. Fences was first developed at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's 1983 National Playwrights Conference and premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1985.

Plot

The focus of Wilson's attention in Fences is Troy, a 53 year-old working-class head of household who struggles with providing for his family. The play takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; although never officially named, it makes mention of several key locations in Pittsburgh. In his younger days, Troy was an excellent player in Negro league baseball and continued practicing baseball while serving time in prison for a murder he had committed during a robbery. Because the color barrier had not yet been broken in Major League Baseball, Troy was unable to get into the MLB to make good money or to save for the future. He now lives a menial, though respectable, blue-collar life of trash collecting; later in the play, he remarkably crosses the race barrier and becomes the first black truck driver in Pittsburgh instead of just a barrel lifter.

Troy lives with his wife, Rose, and their teenage son, Cory. He has a younger brother, Gabe, a World War II veteran whose war injury to his head has caused him noticeable psychological damage. Gabe had received $5,000 from the government, and Troy took control of this money to purchase a home for his family, including a room for Gabe. A short time before the play's opening, Gabriel has rented a room elsewhere, but still in the neighborhood. Lyons is Troy's older son from a previous marriage, and lives outside the home. Bono is Troy's best friend and co-worker.

The play begins on payday, with Troy and Bono drinking and talking. Troy's character is revealed through his speech about how he went up to their boss, Mr. Rand, and asked why African-American men are not allowed to drive garbage trucks; Rose and Lyons join in the conversation. Lyons, a musician, has come to borrow money from Troy, confident that he will receive it, and promises to pay him back because his girlfriend Bonnie just got a job. Troy, who is a rigid believer in hard work and responsibility, belittles his son because he refuses to find a real job, as Troy did, rather than pursuing his dream of becoming a musician.

Cory tells Troy and Rose about an opportunity for a college football scholarship. Troy tells Cory he will not let his son play football for fear of racial discrimination, as Troy believes he experienced when he wanted a career in the National leagues. However, it is suggested later on that Troy told Cory's coach that his son is no longer able to play football. When Cory discovers this, he and Troy get into a fight, resulting in Troy sending Cory to his room. Later, it is revealed that Troy's age after serving a prison sentence, not his race, may have been the primary factor. Father and son argue about Troy's actions, but Troy stubbornly does not back down from his argument and kicks Cory out of the house. Later it is revealed that Cory enlisted in the military after this event.

Troy admits to Rose that he has been having an affair and that his mistress, Alberta, is pregnant. Later, Alberta dies in childbirth. Troy brings his baby daughter Raynell home, and Rose agrees to raise the girl as her own, saying: "From right now . . . this child got a mother. But you a womanless man." She remains in the family home but the couple are estranged; she refuses to accept Troy back into her life.

Seven years later, Troy has died. Cory comes home for a visit from the military where he is a corporal in the Marines. He initially refuses to go to his father's funeral due to long-standing resentment, but he is convinced by his mother to pay his respects to his father — the man who, though hard-headed and often poor at demonstrating affection, nevertheless loved his son. The family say their farewells to Troy and offer forgiveness that may not be fully deserved.

Allegories

The brother Gabriel is potentially an allegory to salvation. Other than being actually named Gabriel, like the angel, Gabe wears a trumpet, constantly chases away unseen "hellhounds", and regularly believes himself to be speaking with Saint Peter. At the end, just before Troy's funeral, the family gathers around Gabe in the yard. He blows three times into his trumpet, but no sound comes out. In a moment of trance, Gabe begins to dance and sing. The sun breaks through the clouds while the family looks on. Troy is at last delivered and the rest of the family is too; each seeming to find peace in their relationship with Troy. [citation needed]

The fence referred to by the play's title is built over many years and is revealed to be finished only in the final act of the play. It is not obvious as to why Troy wants to build it, but a dramatic monologue in the second act shows how he conceptualizes it as an allegory — to keep the Grim Reaper away. The fence is also symbolic of the emotional barrier that Troy erected between himself and his sons, one from each of his adult relationships. Rose also wanted Troy to build the fence as a symbolic means of securing what was her own, keeping what belonged inside in (her family), and making what should stay outside, stay out. [citation needed]

Productions

Fences was first developed at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's 1983 National Playwrights Conference.

It premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1985, under the direction of Lloyd Richards (who was then Artistic Director of the Yale Rep), with a cast of James Earl Jones (Troy Maxson), Mary Alice (Rose), Ray Aranha (Jim Bono), Russell Costen (Gabriel), and Courtney B. Vance (Cory).[1]

The play's first Broadway production was staged at the 46th Street Theatre on March 26, 1987, and closed on June 26, 1988, after 525 performances and 11 previews. Directed by Lloyd Richards, the first Broadway cast remained largely the same as that of the Yale Rep premiere: James Earl Jones (Troy Maxson), Mary Alice (Rose), Ray Aranha (Jim Bono), Frankie Faison (Gabriel), and Courtney B. Vance (Cory). The production won the Tony Awards for Best Play, Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play (James Earl Jones), Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play (Mary Alice), and Best Direction of a Play (Lloyd Richards), as well as the Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding New Play, Outstanding Actor in a Play (Jones), and Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (Alice). It also received Tony Award nominations for Best Featured Actor in a Play (Faison and Vance).

The first Broadway revival of the play opened at the Cort Theatre on April 26, 2010, with a limited 13-week engagement. Directed by Kenny Leon, the production starred Denzel Washington (Troy Maxson) and Viola Davis (Rose) as the married couple struggling with changing U.S. race relations.[2] The revival was nominated for 10 Tony Awards,[3][4] winning three for Best Revival of a Play, Best Actor in a Play (Denzel Washington), and Best Actress in a Play (Viola Davis).[5]

In August, 1990, the play received its premiere production in the UK by Liverpool Playhouse in association with West End producer, Bill Kenwright, in a production by Temba Theatre Company's artistic director, Alby James, starring Hollywood movie star Yaphet Kotto as the protagonist Troy Maxson, and coming star, Adrian Lester, as his son, Cory. Financial Times critic Alastair Macaulay wrote: "Congratulations to the Liverpool Playhouse for presenting this, its British premiere, and for doing it proud...' and 'The director Alby James has done wonders in making his largely English cast absolutely persuasive as these Americans."[6]

In 2013, the play was revived again in the UK by Theatre Royal Bath, starring Lenny Henry as Troy Maxson and directed by Paulette Randall. This production transferred to the Duchess Theatre in London's West End for a run that lasted between June and September 2013.[7] Henry's performance attracted wide acclaim. Giles Broadbent from the Wharf said, “Lenny Henry is immense.”[8] Charles Spencer from The Telegraph said of Henry: "He is, and I don’t use the word lightly, magnificent."[9] Jane Shilling, also from the Telegraph said: "What you don’t expect is to find Henry entirely unrecognisable in the physically and morally immense character he embodies."[10] Best of Theatre said: "You may love or loathe his comedy but it is impossible to deny Lenny Henry's determination to become a serious actor of some note."[11] Paul Taylor from The Independent said, “the performance cements Henry's status as a serious actor.”[12] Henry Hitchings from the London Evening Standard said, "He's on superb form".[13] Simon Edge from the Express said, "Henry gives a perfectly controlled performance, combining physical poise with an armoury of carefully judged vocal ticks and facial mannerisms."[14] Of the production as a whole, Hitchings commented that "Fences is dense and unsettling. It's brave to programme such a meaty, daunting piece during the summer months".[13] Camilla Gurlter from A Younger Theatre described it as “very heavy and with its nearly three hours of lost hope and broken dreams it can feel long and depressing".[15]

Cast and characters

Characters 1987 Original Broadway cast 2010 Broadway revival
Troy Maxson James Earl Jones Denzel Washington
Rose Maxson Mary Alice Viola Davis
Jim Bono Ray Aranha Stephen McKinley Henderson
Cory Maxson Courtney B. Vance Chris Chalk
Lyons Maxson Charles Brown Russell Hornsby
Gabriel Maxson Frankie Faison Mykelti Williamson
Raynell Maxson Karima Miller Eden Duncan-Smith
SaCha Stewart-Coleman

Awards and nominations

Original Broadway production

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
1987 Tony Awards Best Play August Wilson Won [16]
Best Leading Actor in a Play James Earl Jones Won
Best Featured Actor in a Play Frankie Faison Nominated
Courtney B. Vance Nominated
Best Featured Actress in a Play Mary Alice Won
Best Direction of a Play Lloyd Richards Won
Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Play August Wilson Won [17]
Outstanding Actor in a Play James Earl Jones Won
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Frankie R. Faison Nominated
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Mary Alice Won
Outstanding Director of a Play Lloyd Richards Nominated
Pulitzer Prize Drama August Wilson Won [18]
Theatre World Awards Courtney B. Vance Won [19]

2010 Broadway revival

Year Award Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
2010 Tony Awards Best Revival of a Play Won [20]
Best Leading Actor in a Play Denzel Washington Won
Best Leading Actress in a Play Viola Davis Won
Best Featured Actor in a Play Stephen McKinley Henderson Nominated
Best Direction of a Play Kenny Leon Nominated
Best Original Score Branford Marsalis Nominated
Best Scenic Design in a Play Santo Loquasto Nominated
Best Costume Design in a Play Constanza Romero Nominated
Best Lighting Design in a Play Brian MacDevitt Nominated
Best Sound Design in a Play Acme Sound Partners Nominated
Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Revival of a Play Won[a] [21]
Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Chris Chalk Nominated
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Viola Davis Won[b]
Outstanding Music in a Play Branford Marsalis Won
Theatre World Awards Chris Chalk Won [19]

Film adaptation

Main article: Fences (film)

A film adaptation of Fences, directed by Denzel Washington, and starring Washington and Viola Davis reprising their roles from the 2010 Broadway revival, completed production in 2016.[22] The film was released nationally on December 25, 2016, in the U.S. and was released on February 3, 2017, in the UK. The film was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of the top ten films of 2016,[23] and has been nominated for numerous awards, including four Oscar nominations at the 89th Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Washington), Best Supporting Actress (Davis), and Best Adapted Screenplay, with Davis winning for her performance. It also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor for Washington and a Best Supporting Actress win for Davis.[24]

Notes

  1. ^ Tied with A View from the Bridge.
  2. ^ Tied with Frances de la Tour for The History Boys.

References

  1. ^ "Fences at Yale Repertory Theatre 1985". about the artists. Retrieved 21 December 2020.
  2. ^ Gans, Andrew, and Kenneth Jones, "'Fences', with Academy Award Winner Denzel Washington, Opens on Broadway", playbill.com, April 26, 2010.
  3. ^ "Tony Award nominations", abcnews.go.com,
  4. ^ Gans, Andrew and Jones, Kenneth."2010 Tony Nominations Announced; Fela! and La Cage Top List" Archived May 6, 2010, at the Wayback Machine, playbill.com, May 4, 2010.
  5. ^ "Winners List – All Categories", tonyawards.com, June 13, 2010.
  6. ^ Macaulay, Alastair, The Financial Times, August 17, 1990.
  7. ^ "Henry Builds Fences in London", Official London Theatre.
  8. ^ Broadbent, Giles (July 1, 2013). "Stage review: Fences, Duchess Theatre", The Wharf, accessed September 28, 2014.
  9. ^ Spencer, Charles (February 28, 2013). "Fences, Theatre Royal, Bath, review". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  10. ^ Shilling, Jane (June 27, 2013). "Fences, Duchess Theatre, review". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  11. ^ Mitford, Oliver (June 25, 2013). "Fences Review", Best of Theatre, accessed September 28, 2014.
  12. ^ Taylor, Paul (June 27, 2013). "Theatre review: Fences – Lenny Henry's towering performance further proves his status as a serious actor". The Independent. London.
  13. ^ a b Hitchings, Henry (June 27, 2013). "Fences, Duchess Theatre – theatre review", London Evening Standard, accessed September 28, 2014.
  14. ^ Edge, Simon (June 28, 2013). "Theatre review: Fences", Express, accessed September 28, 2014.
  15. ^ Gurlter, Camilla (June 29, 2013). "Review: Fences", A Younger Theatre, accessed June 28, 2014.
  16. ^ "1987 Tony Awards". Tony Awards. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  17. ^ "Nominees and Recipients – 1987 Awards". Drama Desk Awards. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  18. ^ "August Wilson". Pulitzer Prize. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Theatre World Award Recipients". Theatre World Awards. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  20. ^ "2010 Tony Awards". Tony Awards. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  21. ^ "Nominees and Recipients – 2010 Awards". Drama Desk Awards. Retrieved October 2, 2023.
  22. ^ Viagas, Robert (April 22, 2016). "Denzel Washington's Fences Film Begins Shooting Today". Playbill. Retrieved April 25, 2016.
  23. ^ Hipes, Patrick (December 8, 2016). "AFI Awards: Best Of 2016 Film List Includes 'Silence', 'Hacksaw Ridge' & More". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  24. ^ "Golden Globes 2017: The Complete List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. December 12, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.

Further reading

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