Fences, the first of August Wilson's "Century Cycle" plays to be produced on Broadway in 1987, will be revived in the fall in a Broadway production to be directed by playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, according to The New York Times. Carole Shorenstein Hays, the San Francisco-based producer who presented the original production of Fences and remained close to Wilson until his death in 2005, is behind the revival. No theater or cast members have been announced.
Set in the 1950s, Fences tells the story of Troy Maxon, once a famous baseball player in the Negro Leagues and now a proud garbage collector, father and husband. When his youngest son is offered a football scholarship, Troy must reconcile his anger at past racial inequities with wanting the best for his family's future. James Earl Jones won a Best Actor Tony as Troy in the original production, which also starred Mary Alice, Courtney B. Vance and Frankie Faison.
Fences is currently being presented as part of the Kennedy Center's "August Wilson's 20th Century" series, with John Beasley a replacement for Louis Gossett Jr., who dropped out due to illness as Troy. Parks attended a recent performace of the play there, and described Fences as "an edgy and intense play" in an interview with the Times. Hays produced the 2002 Broadway production of Parks' Topdog/Underdog.
