August Wilson's Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning FENCES, currently playing at South Coast Repertory through February 21, certainly has the pedigree of a respected, celebrated play—and it shows. In this hard-working, admirable revival directed by Seret Scott, Wilson's character study of a broken, flawed man and the people that envelope him, is fiercely grounded with raw, irrational emotions, which force the kind of remarkable, impassioned performances that only a cast this seasoned can deliver effortlessly.
Perhaps one of Wilson's best-known works from his 10-play, decade-by-decade series that focused on the realities of African-American life in the previous century, FENCES is set in 1957, in the oft-used stretch of Pittsburgh so familiar to the Wilson oeuvre. The play centers on middle-aged Troy Maxson (played with a terrific, deeply lived-in performance by Charlie Robinson), who was once a promising baseball player in the Negro league, but is now a frustrated garbage man. Troy is bitter about his lot in life and is constantly frustrated by the struggles imposed on him both at work (bigotry) and at home (providing adequately for his family). On paper, you want to root for the guy; after all, continuous struggles against poverty and social injustice are universal themes that are even more celebrated when an audience sees our protagonist suffer through them, then triumph over them in the end.
Here, though, our "hero" has resigned to defeat. He wears his sad surrender on his face, his body language, his choice of prose and, ultimately, his behavior towards those that surround him. Troy is so disappointed with his day-to-day grindstone that by the time Friday—payday—comes, he celebrates this minor "luxury" with abandon (in the form of alcohol and stories of his long-gone glory days), and protests vehemently against anyone who criticizes his very need to do it. Despite everyone around him telling him that good things will come (to those who continue to wait), Troy has already accepted that life just isn't going to get any better, at least for him. And in his convoluted philosophy, Troy believes no one else—let alone his wife or son—should have to suffer the same disappointing path, so why bother? Hope is for those poor suckers who still have dreams.
As we see him slowly labor to put up an actual fence in his own backyard, the audience (and Troy's loved ones) have no problem seeing the fence he's instead built around himself—to keep the people who care for him back behind an impenetrable force field. At the same time the fence also keeps everyone within his controlling reins...after all, why should he suffer through his misery alone? Troy, in Wilson's unique way of storytelling, pursues to sabotage progress under the guise of a husband/parent being protective. The people that are directly affected by Troy's destructive actions include his long-suffering, yet hopeful wife Rose (a tone-perfect Juanita Jennings); Troy's closest friend and co-worker Bono (Gregg Daniel); Troy's oldest son Lyons (Brandon J. Dirden), a ne'er do well musician that was a product of Troy's previous dalliance; Cory (Larry Bates), Troy's young son with Rose; and Troy's brother Gabe (Baron Kelly), a former veteran who has since been mentally damaged by war.
By the simplest of terms, FENCES powerfully and emotionally transcends class, race and time, in that the situations—though by all accounts this specifically says a lot about Wilson's view of the African-American struggle prior to the height of the Civil Rights movement—can still be seen as relevant even today. The first act—though achingly sluggish in moments—serves up healthy doses of Troy's complicated mantra in the poetic, yet still colloquially-familiar language of Wilson. This sets up a melodramatic second act rife with continuous cliffhangers and the revelation of the play's true heroes: those who refuse to let societal circumstances take away from pursuing a satisfying, fulfilling life. As Troy's friend Bono rightly observes of the impatient Troy, which eventually becomes a very telling sign of things to come: "Times have changed; you just showed up too early!"
Soap opera-like deviations aside, what elevates FENCES is the emotionally heartfelt tours-de-force performances by the cast—most notably Robinson, Jennings and Bates. Wilson's play is a cacophony of complex monologues and heart-wrenching conversations that wring out the best acting out of its actors. Each performer, supplied with Wilson's rhythmic language, delivers with eloquence and bravado with each speech. Shaun Motley's effectively period set coupled with Dana Rebecca Woods' costumes serve the play well (when characters dive to the ground during a second-act brawl, the dust really flies...as if the Maxson's backyard really was trucked onto the stage). On the whole, SCR's revival of FENCES is powerful, poignant, and an incredible live master class in superb acting.
Grade: B+
Photos by Henry DiRocco/SCR. Top: Charlie Robinson. Middle: Juanita Jennings and Larry Bates.
