FENCES to Open Theatrical Outfit's 50th Anniversary Season

Theatrical Outfit will launch its 50th anniversary season with a new production of August Wilson's Fences, presented in collaboration with Dominion Entertainment Group and Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Performances will run September 16–October 4 at the Balzer Theater at Herren's in Atlanta before the production travels to Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

Directed by Addae Moon, the production will feature E. Roger Mitchell as Troy Maxson and January LaVoy as Rose Maxson.

The cast also includes Thomas Boyce as Cory Maxson, Amari Cheatom as Lyons Maxson, Auset Jones as Raynell Maxson, Enoch King as Gabriel Maxson and Geoffrey Williams as Jim Bono.

Set in 1950s Pittsburgh, Fences follows Troy Maxson, a former Negro League baseball player whose experiences and disappointments collide with the aspirations of his son. The play examines family, generational conflict and the consequences of exclusion from the American Dream.

Fences is part of Wilson's ten-play American Century Cycle, which chronicles the African American experience throughout the 20th century, with each play set during a different decade. The drama won both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play in 1987.

“Fences is a play about fathers and sons, and about what a country owes the people it excluded from the American Dream,” said Theatrical Outfit Artistic Director Matt Torney, Dominion Entertainment Group Artistic Director Robert John Connor and Alabama Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Quin Gresham in a joint statement. “The play is filled with extraordinary language that captures the inner poetry of each character, and is a vivid exploration of changing generations.”

The creative team includes scenic designers Isabel and Moriah Curley-Clay, Costume Designer Shilla Benning, wig designer Angie Wright, lighting designer Ben Rawson, sound designer Chris Lane and properties manager Alexia Cheveney. Stephanie S. Scott serves as stage manager.

The collaboration between the three theater companies will bring the production to audiences in both Georgia and Alabama.

“All three theater companies share a commitment for exceptional theater, and to telling stories that truly matter in our diverse communities,” Torney, Connor and Gresham said. “We hope this is the start of a lasting relationship that shows what's possible when theaters work together and offers a lasting model for collaboration.”

The production begins a milestone season for Theatrical Outfit, which is celebrating 50 years of producing theater in Atlanta.

“For 50 years the cornerstone of our work has always been the creativity and artistic brilliance of Atlanta artists,” Torney said. “From humble beginnings in a converted laundromat in Virginia Highlands, to our wonderful theatre on Luckie Street, Theatrical Outfit's work spans multiple generations of Atlanta talent that are deeply invested in our community.”