Suzan-Lori Parks to direct Broadway Revival of August Wilson's "Fences"

"Fences," the first play in August Wilson's 10-play cycle, will be revived in the fall in a Broadway production to be directed by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks ("Topdog/Underdog"). Carole Shorenstein Hays, the San Francisco-based producer who presented the original production of"Fences" is behind the revival. 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. The original production earned the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as four Tony Awards, including Best Play.
"Fences" is currently being presented as part of the Kennedy Center's "August Wilson's 20th Century" series.The production is expected to open in the fall, with specific dates, theater, and cast information to be announced at a later date.Wilson died of liver cancer in 2005, at the age of 60. During his lifetime he was the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes, a Tony Award, two Drama Desks, seven New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, and numerous other honors, all of which he achieved before . His other plays include "Gem of the Ocean," "Joe Turner's Come and Gone," "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," "The Piano Lesson," "Seven Guitars," "Two Trains Running," "Jitney," "King Hedley II," and "Radio Golf."

(Courtesy of Black Talent News Feed)