There was much tension between Troy’s son Cory because Cory wanted to play college football. One of the stronger themes in the show was father-and-son rivalry. Murray’s every monologue and line of dialogue was complex and full of meaning, portraying Troy as a real person. Murray, who has appeared in several other of Wilson’s plays, embodied Troy in a manner that transcended Wilson’s fiction. Murray (Troy) in ‘Fences.’ Photo by Reed Sigmon. 437 and 37 home runs), Troy can no longer play professionally because of his age, 53, and a past stint in prison, leaving him feeling bitter toward life and people around him. At one point considered to be one of the best baseball players in the Negro Leagues (once batting. Wilson, America’s Shakespeare by any measure, demands your full attention as an audience member, as a director, as an actor, and even as a critic.įences takes place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the late-1950s and focuses on Troy Maxson, a disgruntled ex–Negro Leagues baseball player who works as a sanitation worker. In 2016 it was adapted into a film starring two Academy Award winners, Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. First produced on Broadway in 1987, the play won Tonys for Best Play, Best Actor, and Best Actress, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It’s a show that will make you feel and question deeply.įences by August Wilson has had a long-acclaimed theatrical run. Is there such a thing as generational curses? Does Black Excellence supersede racism? Can we visit the sins of the father on the child? These questions lingered in my mind as I watched Bowie Community Theatre’s well-done performance of Fences.

Fences theater