Edward Rothstein

By great good fortune it is also possible to see the same thing happen right now in Denzel Washington's filmed version of 'Fences,' a play that is part of the same cycle. Neither should be missed. In both, fathers and sons wrestle with ruthlessness and rebellion; in both, the outside world has left its scars, but decisions by individuals determine their fates.

It is only mid-day in the Tyrones' living room...but Mary Tyrone -- powerfully incarnated by Jessica Lange -- is already well on her way back to morphine addiction...It is a portrayal that sustains the audience in rapt voyeuristic attention almost to the end of the 3 3/4-hour performance...Mr. Byrne is humanly warm yet inhumanly fierce; he is immensely controlled, damming a reservoir of anger and disappointment that can flood over him suddenly and just as quickly be contained...At first, Mr. Shannon's passions are overly muted...But in the final act, when thoroughly soused, he seems to fill the stage with bitter energy and confessional emotion...John Gallagher Jr. as Edmund O'Neill's almost-coy portrayal of himself as a young man is tender but also overly callow...This ensemble makes for a compelling evening.