Esau Pritchett as Troy Maxson
(photo: T. Charles Erickson)
It is quite probable that any one of the plays by the late dramatic chronicler of the African-American experience in the 20th century August Wilson will seem even better than the last time you saw it. That means that no matter if you have already seen the 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winner Fences either during its original Broadway run or during its last Broadway revival in 2010, the production now at the McCarter Theatre Center under the direction of Phylicia Rashad, reaffirms it as one of Wilson's best. It has also proven to be his most popular and successful. It is the second (it followed Ma Rainey's Black Bottom ) in the cycle of 10 plays with each dramatizing an episode during every decade.
This unashamedly melodramatic play is certainly among the more emotionally stirring, although I find myself thinking this about every Wilson play right after I see it. Returning to the McCarter. Rashad is no stranger to the Wilson canon whether as a director (many regional productions) or as an actor (she played 285 year-old Aunt Ester in the McCarter'sGem of the Ocean in 2005). She has a firm grip on the content and context of this play that comes to the McCarter following an engagement at the Long Wharf Theater in Connecticut. To read my complete review and get more information please go to CurtainUp.com: http://curtainup.com/fencesnj14.html
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