Review: FENCES at Shakespeare & Company

August Wilson’s FENCES follows the story of Troy Maxson – a working-class Black man struggling to provide for his family. His past includes the low of a prison sentence and the high of a promising career with the Negro Baseball League, but it’s Troy’s unrealized dream to play for Major League Baseball that fills his days with resentment and regret. 

The winner of both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play in 1987, is set in the 1950s and is the sixth in the playwright’s acclaimed 10-part “Pittsburgh Cycle”.  Like all the "Pittsburgh" plays, FENCES explores the evolving African American experience and examines race relations among other themes. FENCES was first developed at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center 's 1983 National Playwrights Conference and premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1985.

A film adaptation of FENCES, directed by Denzel Washington, and starring Washington and Viola Davis reprising their roles for the 2010 Broadway revival was chosen by the American Film Institute as one of the top ten films in 2016, and for which Davis received the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Shakespeare & Company’s production of FENCES is directed by Christopher V. Edwards.  The cast features Ella Joyce as Rose, “ranney” as Troy Maxson, Brian D. Coats as Gabriel, L. James as Lyons, Jaquan Malik Jones as Corey, Ashley Macauly Moore as Raynelle, Kenneth Ransom as Bono.  The creative team includes Costume Designer Nia Safarr Banks, Maegan A. Conroy Stage Manager, Caroline Eng Sound Designer, Aja M. Jackson Lighting Designer, Jon Savage Set Designer, and Alex Magallanes Assistant Stage Manager.

I have often acknowledged that Berkshire County theatre goers are fortunate to have a rich and thriving arts community with multiple companies providing a wealth of outstanding pieces each year.  FENCES is most certainly the latest on a long list.  Every member of the team delivers at notably high levels.  The skilled and talented artists are natural, comfortable, and accomplished.  Their presentation is unique and different from others that may have been seen in the recent past, but each member of the talented ensemble delivers admirably and completely.  So much so, the presentation is of undeniable quality.  Audience members quickly engage with the characters before them virtually free of any doubt or distraction.  Over the course of the first act, we become deeply engaged with them.  By the time real conflict sets in during act two, we feel both for them, and with them. August Wilson’s FENCES is considered a landmark work of American theatre and he a masterful storyteller.  Shakespeare & Company’s production continuing at the Tina Packer Playhouse in Lenox through August 27 offers the delightful opportunity to sit back, relax, and watch some very accomplished creative folks, share their story.  I think you will be glad you did.   

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