‘Fences’ review – Wright State University – The American family in conflict

Excerpt

August Wilson’s tremendously visceral 1987 Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Fences,” among the finest inclusions in his remarkable 10-play “Pittsburgh Cycle” chronicling the African-American experience in the 20th century, opens Wright State University’s 40th anniversary season with emotionally riveting resonance.

Beginning in 1957 and spanning nearly eight years in the life of a middle class African-American family in Pittsburgh, “Fences,” splendidly and poignantly co-directed by W. Stuart McDowell and Sheila Ramsey, centers its thought-provoking account of race, regret, responsibility, faith, struggle and sacrifice on Troy Maxson (Law Dunford), a dysfunctional, disillusioned former Negro League baseball hotshot. In the Maxsons backyard, where the engrossing action transpires, loudmouth Troy is king of his castle, a welcomed escape from his daily grind as a sanitation worker longing for a promotion.

Read the review from Dayton Most Metro.