August Wilson’s pulitzer prize play ‘Fences’ starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis is coming to a theater near you thanks to all of its praise. The the characters may be different, the audience may be different but the themes of the show are universal and relevant today.
Troy played by Denzel is a 53 year old former league slugger turned garbage collector drowning in daily resentment for not fulfilling his dreams as a professional baseball player in his formative years. His wife Rose played by Viola is the traditional stay at home wife and by all accounts the ‘glue’ that holds the family together especially between Troy and their son Cory.
Cory and Troy struggle to eye to eye and the two bump heads when Cory attempts a shot at profession football which Troy is against.
As Denzel described in a prior interview, when Fences made its re-debut on broadway in 2010, there are many relatable moments that he saw in his character.
Troy’s dilemma stems from ” What Its Like To Be A ‘Big Shot’ At A Young Age But Never Soaring To That Next Level ” .
Denzel continues:
My father told me when I was young, son you better get a trade. You can work at the Water Department and maybe get 25k a year if you stick with it and that was ‘making it’ because that was as far as he could see and that’s how far Troy and Rose could see in ‘Fences’ .
I can feel an Oscar win for both Denzel and Viola for their roles in the upcoming film and the social impact that this will have on communities of color world wide because it also addresses the economic effects on black families. Fences is set to hit theater on December 25th.