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magidLast night I saw Fences (August Wilson) at the Huntington Theater. It's been a while since I've seen a show (and even longer since I've posted; there are a couple of shows I still haven't described from months ago. *sigh*) And it's been even longer since I've seen a show with this kind of intensity.
The play is one of a cycle of 10 about the African-American experience in the US through the 20th century, mostly set in Pittsburgh. This one is set in the 1950s, looking at the life, work, and family of Troy, a former Negro League player who is now a garbageman, bringing a stable paycheck home to his wife Rose, mother of his second son, Cory. Things seem reasonable at the beginning of the play, but then emotions spiral towards difficulties as we are shown more.
It's a fascinating show, and even having seats that were too close to the stage and off to one side didn't mar that at all. It was clear to me that the show is towards the beginning of its run, with a couple of line flubs, but that didn't matter at all, didn't throw me out of the magic that was happening. I had to pay more attention than usual, since the dialect wasn't easy for me, and I'm sure there are things that I missed, given speech patterns I was unfamiliar with (that seemed to resonate with other people).
I've gotten used to low-budget productions; seeing the detailed buildings of the set (wired for light and sound, etc) was impressive. The lighting was good, though given where I was sitting, I saw more of the behind-the-scenes stuff than I was expecting. The adult actors were all really good; I wasn't surprised to see so many credits in their bios.
Two thumbs up, well worth seeing, with the caveat that it is not a short show, nor is it an easy show (intensity of family emotions with overtones of abuse at times), though there are definitely light moments.
The play is one of a cycle of 10 about the African-American experience in the US through the 20th century, mostly set in Pittsburgh. This one is set in the 1950s, looking at the life, work, and family of Troy, a former Negro League player who is now a garbageman, bringing a stable paycheck home to his wife Rose, mother of his second son, Cory. Things seem reasonable at the beginning of the play, but then emotions spiral towards difficulties as we are shown more.
It's a fascinating show, and even having seats that were too close to the stage and off to one side didn't mar that at all. It was clear to me that the show is towards the beginning of its run, with a couple of line flubs, but that didn't matter at all, didn't throw me out of the magic that was happening. I had to pay more attention than usual, since the dialect wasn't easy for me, and I'm sure there are things that I missed, given speech patterns I was unfamiliar with (that seemed to resonate with other people).
I've gotten used to low-budget productions; seeing the detailed buildings of the set (wired for light and sound, etc) was impressive. The lighting was good, though given where I was sitting, I saw more of the behind-the-scenes stuff than I was expecting. The adult actors were all really good; I wasn't surprised to see so many credits in their bios.
Two thumbs up, well worth seeing, with the caveat that it is not a short show, nor is it an easy show (intensity of family emotions with overtones of abuse at times), though there are definitely light moments.