Fences

This play was amazing. I've got to admit, I went in thinking "Morpheus! SWEET!" and I came out completely put in my place. The play isn't about seeing Laurence Fishburne in a play at all, though that's certainly a strong component, since he's such a powerful actor - it's about the sheer emotion in the play itself. It reminded me a great deal of Death of a Salesman, in that it celebrates a man, Troy, who is neither great nor significant, but does his best to lead the best life he can and be remembered, if at all possible. Obviously he fails and estranges himself from his family; but the play works to remind the audience that even in horrible errors he makes, such as preventing his son Cory from playing football, he always makes decisions for what he thinks are good reasons - he had been a major baseball player before the major leagues started letting black players in, and still believes that a black man cannot get any respect in the sports world, so he's trying to protect Cory.

The singular most powerful moment of the entire play, to me, is when Troy admits to his wife Rose that he has been having an affair, and that the woman is pregnant. He tells her that he "can just sit in her kitchen and laugh," and all his cares are gone. He "can't give that up." Rose hears him out, and then in just a few, well-chosen words she deftly cuts down his entire argument, showing him how stupid and selfish and blind he has been. She says that she often wanted out; that she often was reminded of Troy's imperfections, and yet she didn't abandon him, even at times when she didn't think she could live in that house one minute longer. "Don't you think I ever wanted to just sit and laugh?" Angela Basset played Rose, and at first I wasn't sure what I thought of her portrayal of the character, because at times her voice just didn't seem natural, trilling and lilting all over an octave; however by the second act (the beginning of which is this exchange), I was in love with her. She put so much power into her remonstrance of Troy - and when she said that line, "don't you think I ever wanted to just sit and laugh," she tilted her head back and she laughed like a madwoman, and you could see her hysteria at his betrayal and at her entire world crashing down around her. And only a few scenes later, when Troy brings his baby back from the hospital (his lover dies in childbirth), Rose agrees to take the baby for the baby's sake, "because she's innocent," but she tells Troy, "from now on you're a womanless man." An amazing woman, an amazing cast, an amazing play. I could go on for hours, but school starts tomorrow and I still have summer reading left.

Labels: entertainment

posted by Holly @ 7:34 PM