August Wilson's 'Fences' is a major APT achievement

By Bill Wineke, Channel3000, Aug 21, 2019.

Wilson's "Fences" marks a number of firsts for the play and for American Players Theatre.

The play, first produced in the 1980s, tells the story of an African American family living in the 1950s in Pittsburgh.  It is basically the story of Troy Maxon, a garbage collector who once played in the Negro Baseball League, of his wife, Rose, a friend, Jim Bone, and children Lyons, Gabriel, Cory and Raynell.

The production, which runs through Sept. 22, marks the first time the play, set in a Pittsburgh backyard, has been produced outdoors.  It marks the first time an APT production has featured an all African-American cast in a play about an African American family.  It also is the first time APT has produced an August Wilson play.

All of which may be moderately interesting and basically irrelevant.  What is relevant is that "Fences" is a stunning work of art that will enthrall not only those who appreciate the "classical theater" heritage of APT but, also, anyone who may never have seen a live play in his life.

That's due in part to Wilson's dialogue and in part to the way the actors, David Alan Anderson (Troy), Bryant Louis Bentley (Jim Bone), Karen Aldridge (Rose) and Jamal James, Gavin Lawrence, Yao Dogbe and Taressa Marie Hennes bring those words to life.

Read the full review here!