Fences Essay Introduction

Fences Essay Introduction

Fences was written by August Wilson and is a part of Wilson's "Century Cycle" of plays set in the 1950s in African American neighborhoods. These plays, nine of which take place in Pittsburgh's Hill District, "aim to sketch the Black experience in the 20th century and "raise consciousness through theater" and echo "the poetry in the everyday language of black America". [link: https://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/839/august–wilson–the–art–of–theater–no–14–august–wilson]



Though developed for the Euguene O'Neil Theatre Center's 1983 National Playwright's Conference, Fences first premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1985 and in 1987 won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. The first Broadway production stared James Earl Jones, Courtney B. Vance, Mary Alice, Frankie Faison, and Ray Arahna; it was directed by Lloyd Richards at the 46th Street Theatre and ran from May 1987 till June 1988. The original Broadway run won Tony Awards for Best Play, Best Performance of a Lead Actor in a Play (Jones), Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play (Alice), and Best Direction of a Play.



In Fences' first revival run, which opened at the Cort Theatre in 2010, Kenny Leon cast Viola Davis and Denzel Washington as Troy and Rose Maxon, and the run secured three Tony Awards for best Revival of a Play, Best Actor in a Play, and Best Actress in a Play. Washington and Davis went on to reprise their roles in the 2016 film adaption of the period drama, which

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