[NEohioPAL]Akron Beacon Journal:`Fences' opens viewers' eyes to poetry in life's hardships

[K Brown]

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`Fences' opens viewers' eyes to poetry in life's hardships=0AWeathervane ca=
st has right pacing, quiet mood for August Wilson's play set in 1957 Pittsb=
urgh=0ABy Elaine Guregian=0ABeacon Journal arts and culture critic=0A=0A =
=0AWeathervane Community Playhouse=0A =0AAbdullah Bey (left), Layne Farr an=
d Christopher Henderson play Troy, Rose and Cory Maxson in the award-winnin=
g play 'Fences.' Bey masters the role of Troy, a man who tries hard to be m=
orally upright but has betrayed wife Rose with another woman.=0AMetaphors a=
re everywhere in August Wilson's emotionally rewarding play Fences, the win=
ner of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for drama, now running at Weathervane Commun=
ity Playhouse. It's astonishing when a work so poetically rich also rings s=
o true.=0AFences is one of a series of plays by Pittsburgh-born Wilson (who=
 died in 2005) that includes the acclaimed Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and the=
 1990 Pulitzer winner, The Piano Lesson. The Kennedy Center in Washington, =
D.C., has just announced a spring 2008 cycle of these plays, each devoted t=
o a different decade of the 20th century.=0AFences is a distinguished addit=
ion to Weathervane's season. As directed by Terrence Spivey, the artistic d=
irector of Karamu Performing Arts Theatre, it's a play in which local volun=
teer actors can, and do, make an impact.=0AFences makes poetry of life with=
out taking its eye off its disappointments and hardships. It leads us into =
the 1957 world of Troy Maxson, a man who tries hard to be morally upright b=
ut nevertheless can't help wanting to ``steal second,'' as he puts it, betr=
aying his wife with another woman. The unvarying sameness of the setting de=
signed by Jennifer Kilka -- the front porch and small yard of Troy's crampe=
d, two-story house in Pittsburgh, the crisp white curtains inside a reminde=
r of his wife's determination to keep things cheerful -- speaks to how stuc=
k Troy's life is. He can't even finish building a fence, another metaphor i=
n the story that's subject to more than one interpretation.=0ARacial discri=
mination and bad timing kept Troy (Abdullah Bey) from having the baseball c=
areer he craved. Bitter about that, he has accepted responsibility with a s=
tooped-shouldered resignation. His occasional happiness comes from flirting=
 with his loyal wife, Rose (Layne Farr), or shooting the breeze with his lo=
ngtime friend Bono (Carlos Rush), who works with him as a garbage collector=
.=0AThe humor that the wonderfully understated Bey extracts from the lines =
is one of this production's strongest suits. There's some overselling of ot=
her roles. But Bey moves slowly and mutters his lines as if he, like Troy, =
were pacing himself to just get through to another Friday, when he can rela=
x with a pint and a paycheck.=0ATroy's younger son, Cory (Christopher Hende=
rson), a promising athlete, feels the lack of his father's love. It's a ter=
rible moment when he asks his father, ``How come you ain't never liked me?'=
'=0AFor Rose, living with Troy means mediating between him and his sons, Co=
ry and Lyons (Raymone Scott), a strutting musician who comes to Troy for ha=
ndouts. Farr brings a sturdiness and occasional twinkle to Rose. At Saturda=
y night's performance, when she learned that Troy had fathered a child with=
 his mistress, she threw her voice like a trombone, greased with rage. Rose=
 has the strength to take on raising Troy's love child, Raynell (sweetly pl=
ayed by Jasmine Moore) and to put Troy on notice.=0ADirector Spivey has for=
 the most part taken a direct, naturalistic approach to the play. (I'm curi=
ous to see what he will do with Wilson's King Hedley II at Karamu later thi=
s season.) We didn't really need the urban sound effects of catfights and b=
arking dogs. Wilson's pitch-perfect dialogue just requires a quiet setting =
so we can drink in his observations about life.=0Ahttp://www.ohio.com/mld/o=
hio/entertainment/performing_arts/15770506.htm=0A=0A
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00000 size=3D2>=0A<DIV>=0A<DIV>=0A<H1>`Fences' opens viewers' eyes to poetr=
y in life's hardships</H1>=0A<H2>Weathervane cast has right pacing, quiet m=
ood for August Wilson's play set in 1957 Pittsburgh</H2>=0A<H5>By Elaine Gu=
regian</H5>=0A<H6>Beacon Journal arts and culture critic</H6>=0A<DIV id=3Da=
rticle_related>=0A<DIV class=3Dphotorelated><IMG height=3D166 alt=3D"Abdull=
ah Bey (left), Layne Farr and Christopher Henderson play Troy, Rose and Cor=
y Maxson in the award-winning play 'Fences.' Bey masters the role of Troy, =
a man who tries hard to be morally upright but has betrayed wife Rose with =
another woman." src=3D"http://www.ohio.com/images/ohio/ohio/15772/248758269=
940.jpg" width=3D250 border=3D0></DIV>=0A<DIV class=3Dphotorelated> </=
DIV>=0A<DIV class=3Dphotocredit>Weathervane Community Playhouse</DIV>=0A<DI=
V class=3Dphotocredit> </DIV>=0A<DIV class=3Dphotocaption>Abdullah Bey=
 (left), Layne Farr and Christopher Henderson play Troy, Rose and Cory Maxs=
on in the award-winning play 'Fences.' Bey masters the role of Troy, a man =
who tries hard to be morally upright but has betrayed wife Rose with anothe=
r woman.</DIV></DIV>=0A<P>Metaphors are everywhere in August Wilson's emoti=
onally rewarding play <I>Fences</I>, the winner of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize =
for drama, now running at Weathervane Community Playhouse. It's astonishing=
 when a work so poetically rich also rings so true.</P>=0A<P><I>Fences</I> =
is one of a series of plays by Pittsburgh-born Wilson (who died in 2005) th=
at includes the acclaimed <I>Ma Rainey's Black Bottom </I>and the 1990 Puli=
tzer winner, <I>The Piano Lesson</I>. The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C=
., has just announced a spring 2008 cycle of these plays, each devoted to a=
 different decade of the 20th century.</P>=0A<P><I>Fences</I> is a distingu=
ished addition to Weathervane's season. As directed by Terrence Spivey, the=
 artistic director of Karamu Performing Arts Theatre, it's a play in which =
local volunteer actors can, and do, make an impact.</P>=0A<P><I>Fences </I>=
makes poetry of life without taking its eye off its disappointments and har=
dships. It leads us into the 1957 world of Troy Maxson, a man who tries har=
d to be morally upright but nevertheless can't help wanting to ``steal seco=
nd,'' as he puts it, betraying his wife with another woman. The unvarying s=
ameness of the setting designed by Jennifer Kilka -- the front porch and sm=
all yard of Troy's cramped, two-story house in Pittsburgh, the crisp white =
curtains inside a reminder of his wife's determination to keep things cheer=
ful -- speaks to how stuck Troy's life is. He can't even finish building a =
fence, another metaphor in the story that's subject to more than one interp=
retation.</P>=0A<P>Racial discrimination and bad timing kept Troy (Abdullah=
 Bey) from having the baseball career he craved. Bitter about that, he has =
accepted responsibility with a stooped-shouldered resignation. His occasion=
al happiness comes from flirting with his loyal wife, Rose (Layne Farr), or=
 shooting the breeze with his longtime friend Bono (Carlos Rush), who works=
 with him as a garbage collector.</P>=0A<P>The humor that the wonderfully u=
nderstated Bey extracts from the lines is one of this production's stronges=
t suits. There's some overselling of other roles. But Bey moves slowly and =
mutters his lines as if he, like Troy, were pacing himself to just get thro=
ugh to another Friday, when he can relax with a pint and a paycheck.</P>=0A=
<P>Troy's younger son, Cory (Christopher Henderson), a promising athlete, f=
eels the lack of his father's love. It's a terrible moment when he asks his=
 father, ``How come you ain't never liked me?''</P>=0A<P>For Rose, living w=
ith Troy means mediating between him and his sons, Cory and Lyons (Raymone =
Scott), a strutting musician who comes to Troy for handouts. Farr brings a =
sturdiness and occasional twinkle to Rose. At Saturday night's performance,=
 when she learned that Troy had fathered a child with his mistress, she thr=
ew her voice like a trombone, greased with rage. Rose has the strength to t=
ake on raising Troy's love child, Raynell (sweetly played by Jasmine Moore)=
 and to put Troy on notice.</P>=0A<P>Director Spivey has for the most part =
taken a direct, naturalistic approach to the play. (I'm curious to see what=
 he will do with Wilson's <I>King Hedley II </I>at Karamu later this season=
.) We didn't really need the urban sound effects of catfights and barking d=
ogs. Wilson's pitch-perfect dialogue just requires a quiet setting so we ca=
n drink in his observations about life.</P>=0A<P><A href=3D"http://www.ohio=
.com/mld/ohio/entertainment/performing_arts/15770506.htm" target=3D_blank r=
el=3Dnofollow>http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/entertainment/performing_arts/15=
770506.htm</A></P></DIV></DIV></FONT></FONT></DIV><BR></DIV></div><br></bod=
y></html>
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