Additional Cast Members Announced for Fences, Starring Denzel Washington

Additional casting has been announced for the Broadway revival of August Wilson’s Fences, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis. The play, directed by Kenny Leon, will begin previews on April 14 at Broadway’s Cort Theatre and open there on April 26.

In addition to Washington as Troy Maxson and Davis as Rose Maxson, the cast will feature Chris Chalk (MTC’s Ruined) as Cory, Stephen McKinley Henderson (Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and King Hedley II) as Jim Bono, Russell Hornsby (ABC’s Lincoln Heights and HBO’s In Treatment) as Lyons and Mykelti Williamson (24 and Forrest Gump) as Gabriel. Casting for the role of Raynell will be announced at a later date.

Fences is one of the 10 plays in Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle, focusing on the African-American experience in the 20th century. The play centers on Troy Maxson (Washington), a Pittsburgh sanitation worker who once dreamed of a baseball career, but was too old when the major leagues finally admitted black players. As he faces off against the racial barrier at work and his own disappointments, Troy also grapples with his son Cory over the teenager’s hope for a football scholarship and with his wife, Rose (Davis), who confronts Troy over a child he has fathered with another woman.

The original 1987 Broadway production of Fences won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, four Tony Awards, (including Best Play) and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Play. It ran for 525 performances, Wilson’s biggest commercial success on Broadway.

The revival will play a 13-week engagement through July 11, 2010.