Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe swings for the 'Fences'

August Wilson’s “Fences” walks the dangerous crossroads of self, family, loyalty, racial identity and personal ambition in this Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe production. The Pulitzer Prize-winning play unfolds in Pittsburgh in the late 1950s. Wilson’s slice of African-American life has seven compelling characters. But Troy Maxson (Patric Robinson) towers above the rest.

Troy seems like a happy-go-lucky tough guy. He cracks jokes, tells tall tales and bursts with life. Don’t be fooled; Troy’s not what he seems. The happy face he shows the world masks a burning inner rage. 

Troy ran away from his abusive father at age fourteen and stole to survive for a year. After he killed somebody, he was sentenced to 15 years in the state penitentiary. 

Troy spent those years playing prison baseball and relentlessly practicing. By the time he got out, Troy was a world-class power hitter. He had a few years of fleeting fame in the Negro Leagues. He hit a ton of home runs and made very little money. 

When Troy started a family with Rose (Ariel Blue), he needed to provide. Major League Baseball was integrated by then. But he was in his 40s now, and that wasn’t a realistic career choice. 

Troy walked away from the game he loved. He swallowed his pride and got a steady job as a garbage man. Troy never complained. He did his duty. That’s what men do.

Troy’s 53 years old when “Fences” begins. His bitterness still simmers, but he keeps a lid on it. Outwardly, he’s a fun-loving, happy fellow. Troy flirts with his wife (Ariel Blue), shares whiskey with his friend Bono (Brian L. Boyd) and builds a fence around his house. 

Troy keeps his lost dreams of baseball glory to himself. But his youngest son, Cory (Zion Thompson) has dreams of his own. He wants to go to college on a football scholarship. 

When Troy discovers Cory’s ambition, his happy mask cracks. He orders the high school football coach to kick his son off the team and tells the college recruiter to go back home. That cruelly crushes Cory’s dreams of football glory. 

Troy says his intentions are good. He’s sparing his son the humiliation of his own failure. But he’s really sparing himself the humiliation of his son’s success. After that, Troy’s bitterness finally boils over. And it almost tears his family apart.

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Wilson’s an amazing storyteller — but never formulaic. This story of “Fences” takes many side trips and never moves in a straight line. The play avoids a predictable set-up/payoff beat, fakes you out at times and leaves many questions unanswered. It’s a great story. But not an easy one.

Characters are the heart of the play

Director Jim Weaver brings clarity to Wilson’s dense, multilayered saga. The characters are the heart of his play. The script doesn’t telegraph who they are. Wilson honors that intention. He slowly reveals them, scene by scene — a slipped word here, a guilty look there. Like so many puzzle pieces, the characters gradually come together. With Weaver’s deft direction, you’ll see them for who they truly are in this production.

That clarity of character depends on the actors, of course. No problem. Their performances are outstanding.

Robinson’s Troy is a force of nature — a blustering, shouting, charismatic figure who’s brimming with life force energy. The man is also a selfish bully and a control freak who pushes his family around. 

Image courtesy of Sorcha Augustine

Troy’s moral code is as strong as a tough, maple baseball bat. He beats people up with it. The code’s rigid, when applied to friends and family. But there are loopholes for Troy Maxson. 

Cheating on his wife doesn’t feel wrong. Like Tony Soprano, Troy’s a bad guy who thinks he’s a good guy. Against all logic, you can’t help but like him. It’s a tough, nuanced, paradoxical role. But Robinson makes it live and breathe on stage.

Blue’s Rose is a family variation of the Stockholm Syndrome. Rose is a hostage; Troy is her captor. Say or do the wrong thing, and the man explodes. Rose strives to see through Troy’s eyes, anticipate his needs and keep him happy. She takes a lot of crap, but only so much.

Thompson’s Cory is also self-effacing. The poor kid walks on eggshells around his father. Just like his mom, Cory tries not to push Troy’s anger buttons. Cory doesn’t rebel, even when his dad stomps on his football dreams. But when Troy violently throws his mother to the ground, he finally stands up to him. 

Donovan Whitney delivers a subtle, low-key performance as Lyons, Troy’s older son from a first marriage. He’s a smooth, easygoing Bebop jazz player. 

He drops by every Friday to ask his father the same two questions. Can I get a loan? Will you drop by the club to hear me play? Troy usually gives the same answers: “Yes” and no.” 

Boyd plays Troy’s best friend, Jim Bono. His understated comedy always gets a laugh. Boyd smartly conveys the rules of the game in his character’s longstanding friendship. When Bono stops by, he knows what he’s in for. It’s always the Troy Maxson show — and he’s its one-man audience. Boyd’s character gets a word in edgewise every now and then. And a few sips of whiskey. 

Carroll Hunter’s Gabriel was shot in the head on an island in the Pacific in World War II. His brain’s been damaged, and he’s not all there. Like some Shakespearean prophetic figure, Gabe’s got one foot in this world and another in the next.

These characters live and breathe in the Maxson family home. One set; one location. Tim Wisgerhof’s lovingly detailed set for this residence has seen a lot of living. The home isn’t falling apart. But it’s not going on the cover of House Beautiful anytime soon. 

Nicholas Hartman’s costumes evoke the clothes of respectable, working-class Black folks in the 1950s. Except for Gabe, they all dress sharp. Lyon’s hipster garb is sharper than most. (Love that porkpie hat.)

There’s a lot to love in this play. “Fences” is gripping from start to finish. The play clocks in just under 2.5 hours, so it damn well better be. I’m happy to say, it damn well is. “Fences” won a Pulitzer Prize in 1987. It deserved it.

Wilson knew what makes people tick. His characters are well-drawn and never devolve into lazy stereotypes. He’s also got a great ear for spoken language. His sizzling dialogue always sounds like real people talking. “Fences” grabs your attention because it’s true to life. But not just this life.

A haunting, mystical thread runs through Wilson’s earthly story. The veil between this world and the next gets very thin at times. Thanks to the playwright’s genius, you get a few glimpses of the other side.

Thanks to the talent behind this production, “Fences” hits it out of the park on the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe stage.