August Wilson's FENCES Extended At Chesapeake Shakespeare Company

Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is presenting Fences by August Wilson, directed by Reginald L. Douglas, as part of the Baltimore August Wilson Celebration (BAWC). The Pulitzer Prize-winning drama is CSC’s second production in the citywide tribute and marks the sixth play mounted in Baltimore exploring Wilson’s American Century Cycle.

The production opened February 6 and has since been extended through March 8 due to demand, with added performances on Friday, March 6 at 8 p.m., and matinees on Saturday, March 7 at 2 p.m. and Sunday, March 8 at 2 p.m.

Set in 1950s Pittsburgh, Fences centers on Troy Maxson, a former Negro League baseball player whose deferred dreams shape his life as a sanitation worker, husband, and father. The play examines themes of family, labor, race, and the American promise within the context of Wilson’s ten-play cycle chronicling the African American experience across the twentieth century.

CSC company member DeJeanette Horne portrays Troy Maxson. Lolita Marie appears as Rose Maxson, with Aaron P. Watkins as Jim Bono, Evan T. Carrington as Lyons, Shakill Jamal as Gabriel, Isaiah C. Evans as Cory, and Mikayla Uqdah as Raynell.

The creative team includes director Reginald L. Douglas; production manager Lauren Engler; production stage manager Alexis E. Davis; technical director Dan O’Brien; scenic designer Timothy Jones; lighting designer Malory Hartman; costume designer Cidney Forkpah; sound designer Chris Lane; props artisan Isabel deCarvalho; assistant director Bernard B. Johnson; production associate Dawn Thomas Reidy; dramaturg Khalid Y. Long; music director Tiffany Underwood Holmes; fights and intimacy director Sierra Young; assistant stage manager Dynia Goodwin; and assistant technical director Chester Stacy.

CSC began its participation in the BAWC with a 2024 staging of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone and returns to conclude its involvement with Fences. The production follows Seven Guitars, presented earlier this season by Spotlighters Theatre as part of the citywide celebration, which was conceived by CSC Producing Executive Director Lesley Malin and is administered by CSC.

In conjunction with the production, CSC is offering community engagement events, including post-show conversations with the cast and dramaturg Dr. Khalid Long, aimed at deepening dialogue around Wilson’s legacy and the play’s themes.