THEATER: 'Fences' plays at the Woodbox

By Phil Dzikiy

December 05, 2008 04:15 pm

— Linda Silvestri sees the parallels.
Silvestri is directing “Fences” at the Woodbox Theater this weekend. “Fences” is the sixth part of playwright August Wilson’s “Pittsburgh Cycle.” Wilson’s cycle features 10 plays — one for each decade in the last century. Nine of the 10 plays take place in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, a predominantly African-American neighborhood in the city that has gone from a cultural crossroads to a crumbling region.
The play’s setting is described as the “backyard of an urban home in a North American industrial city. If that seems familiar ...
“This might as well have been Niagara Falls,” Silvestri said. “Fences” may very well be Wilson’s most famous play. It won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1987 and James Earl Jones won the Tony Award for Best Actor. Jones played Troy Maxson, a former Negro Leagues baseball player who becomes the first black garbageman in Pittsburgh.
Silvestri describes Maxson as “terrible, but you can connect with him.”
In the Woodbox production, Maxson is played by Tab Booze, who feels simlarly about the character, calling him an “evil guy.” But Booze sees parallels, as well.
“I know Troy, without a doubt,” Booze said. “In a lot of ways, Troy is me. He says the things I wouldn’t say out loud.”
Booze sees Troy Maxson as a perfectionist and a dedicated father who doesn’t want to show his love.
“I love the part,” Booze said. “It takes a lot of energy to do this part.”
Booze was also part of the cast when the Woodbox did another Wilson play a few years ago, “Jitney.” Booze enjoyed “Jitney” and he spoke highly of Wilson’s “real” dialogue, but he’s feeling an even greater connection with “Fences.”
“I couldn’t see anything more powerful than this,” he said of the play. “It has some devastating factors. It’s well-rounded and it’s real ... it’s a tearjerker ... the cast has cried in rehearsals.”
Silvestri echoes Booze’s praises when it comes to Wilson’s knack for creating reality.
“He creates such realistic characters with real situations,” Silvestri said. “People can connect.”
And people can connect even more at a theater like the Woodbox, according to Silvestri. A small, intimate theater that only seats 72 people, the Woodbox creates a strong connection between the audience and the performers.
“There’s nothing locally that compares to it,” Silvestri said. “It’s like you’re right there with (the actors).”
Silvestri hopes an acclaimed play like “Fences” can be a starting point for more locals to check out theater in the area.
“I think people should take a chance,” she said. “I see Niagara Falls people going to Buffalo (theaters) and they don’t come here.”

IF YOU GO
WHAT: “Fences”
WHEN: 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday, Dec. 12, 13, 19, 20 and 2:30 p.m. Dec. 14 and 21.
WHERE: Woodbox Theatre at the Niagara Arts and Cultural Center, 1201 Pine Ave. and Portage Road.
COST: General admission $10, seniors and students $8.
MORE INFORMATION: Call 297-5910.

August Wilson’s “Pittsburgh Cycle”
“Fences” is the sixth part of playwright August Wilson’s “Pittsburgh Cycle,” a 10-play cycle dramatizing the African-American experience through the decades of the 20th century. Nine of the 10 plays are based in Pittsburgh’s Hill District, while “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is set in Chicago.
Wilson finished the cycle in 2005 with “Radio Golf” before succumbing to cancer in the same year.
• “Gem of the Ocean” — 1900s
• “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone” — 1910s
• “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” — 1920s
• “The Piano Lesson” — 1930s
• “Seven Guitars” — 1940s
• “Fences” — 1950s
• “Two Trains Running” — 1960s
• “Jitney” — 1970s
• “King Hedley II” — 1980s
• “Radio Golf” — 1990s

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