Review: FENCES at The Old Globe

With this excellent cast and directing, Fences" doesn’t just honor August Wilson’s language, it revels in it while bringing this classic story to life at The Old Globe through May 3rd.

Directed with precision and emotional intelligence by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg, Sonnenberg leans into the musicality of Wilson’s dialogue, allowing it to ebb and flow,  balancing moments of levity with an undercurrent of inevitable tension. The result is a production that feels both intimate and epic, grounded in one backyard yet expansive in its emotional reach.

At the center is Troy Maxson (Dorian Missick),  who is brought to life with commanding complexity. He is a man shaped by trauma, hardened by systemic barriers, and haunted by the life he believes he was denied. Yet he is also charismatic, funny, and, at times, deeply loving. It’s in these contradictions that the production thrives.

Troy’s relationships, particularly with his wife Rose (De'Andre Aziza), and his sons Lyons (Mister Fitzgerald) and Cory (Omari K. Chancellor), are the emotional center of the play. What begins as banter and routine gradually fractures into something raw and devastating.

Rose, meanwhile, emerges as the quiet force holding everything together. Her journey is one of resilience and reckoning, and her arc in the second act lands with a satisfying, hard-earned grace. The relationship between Troy and Rose fuels the production,  and Azizza and Missick succeed in making every shift in their relationship feel seismic.

The supporting cast enriches the world beautifully.  Cory’s struggle to assert his own identity against his father’s imposing shadow is rendered with aching clarity by Chancellor, while Fitzgerald's Lyons brings a lighter, more easygoing energy that contrasts sharply with Troy’s rigidity.  Rondrell McCormick as Troy's friend Bono serves as both confidant and conscience, grounding the play with warmth and pragmatism.  Donathan Walters Gabriel is sweet, damaged, and haunting, which underscores the play’s meditation on mortality and redemption.  The role of young Raynell is placed between Justus Alexander and Ariele Maye Rivers.

Visually, the production is just as compelling. The scenic design by Lawrence E. Moten III is nothing short of gorgeous, offering a richly layered recreation of the Maxson front porch and neighborhood that feels lived-in and alive. The front porch and yard become a stage within a stage, a gathering place for stories, arguments, and dreams deferred. Each section is surrounded by a fence, or porch railing in various states of repair, and a baseball hangs from a strong, old, and battered-looking tree in the yard.   Every detail and layer immerses the audience fully in this world. Lighting design by Sherrice Majgani illuminates the set and this family beautifully.

What makes this "Fences" so affecting is that it doesn’t ask us to excuse Troy’s flaws, nor does it reduce him to them. Instead, it presents a family grappling with love in all its imperfect forms. Like the family dynamic, the show is multifaceted; warm, funny, hopeful, and heartbreaking.

In the end, "Fences" reminds us that love, while powerful, is not always enough to protect us from ourselves. And yet, even when it fractures, it endures. 

How To Get Tickets

"Fences" is playing at The Old Globe through May 3rd.  For showtime and ticket information, go to www.theoldglobe.org 

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