Classic Theatre hits ‘Fences’ out of the park
Classic Theatre’s powerful staging of August Wilson’s “Fences” bursts into life on Troy’s payday.
Troy Maxson (Sean Massey), a one-time star of baseball’s Negro Leagues who now works as a garbage collector, strides into the yard of his ramshackle home with his weekly wages of $76.42 in his pocket and his friend Jim Bono (Tony Campbell) at his side. They’re in high spirits, Troy swigging from a pint of gin and telling stories about his life.
Troy’s steadfast wife, Rose (Nerryl Williams), eventually emerges, offering some good-natured fact-checking here and there. She also prods him to give in when his eldest son, Lyons (Torence Henderson), a perpetually strapped musician, stops by to borrow $10.
In the hands of director Antoinette Winstead and her gifted cast, it’s a perfectly calibrated scene, setting the stage for all that follows.
The 1987 play, which Winstead also directed in 2007 for the now-shuttered Renaissance Guild, shows how some of Troy’s actions damage his ties to Rose and their son Cory (Ty Price), a gifted athlete.
It plays through Feb. 26 at the Little Carver Civic Center, an intimate space that is ideal for the play.
“Fences” is part of Wilson’s Century Cycle, 10 plays capturing the Black experience throughout the 20th century. He won the first of two Pulitzer Prizes for the drama, which opens in 1957 and ends in 1965.
It paints a vivid portrait of life in Pittsburgh at the time. Bono talks about using his outhouse in the winter; Troy’s brother Gabriel (Carl Brooks), a veteran, wanders about, convinced he is an angel, a result of the head injury he suffered in World War II. Troy talks about his fight with the city over the fact that none of the drivers in the sanitation department are Black, as well as his resentment over being too old to continue playing when baseball was integrated.
The play also deals with the generation gap and the fraught relationships between some fathers and sons. In all the scenes between Troy and his younger son, Cory, there is a sense that violence could erupt at any moment. In one standout moment, Cory asks his father why
he doesn’t like him. The question flummoxes Troy, who left home when he was 14 after a particularly savage beating from his father. By contrast, he works hard to make sure Cory is fed and has a roof over his head. That, he says, should be enough: “I ain’t got to like you.”
Massey gives a fully
realized performance as Troy, capturing his flaws as well as his charisma and the well of pain within him over what might have been had he been able to keep playing baseball. He is well-matched by Williams, who plays Rose with a quiet strength.
The entire cast is strong, including Ru Mcintyre as
Raynelle, the daughter Troy fathers with another woman, a betrayal that destroys his marriage to Rose.
The design elements are first-rate, including John Coker’s original music, Alfy Valdez’ set and Rose Kennedy’s costumes.
The play ends with an indelible moment in which Gabriel calls on St. Peter to open the pearly gates for Troy. Unable to produce a sound from the horn he carries with him everywhere, he dances and howls before being bathed with an otherworldly light, the work of lighting designer Pedro C. Ramirez.
Some opening weekend performances sold out, so it’s a good idea to snap up tickets soon. This is not a show to be missed.
“Fences” can be seen at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through Feb. 26 at the Little Carver Civic Center, 226 N. Hackberry. Tickets cost from $23 to $38, ticketmaster.com. Info, classictheatre.org; 210589-8450.