Two-time Academy
Award winner Denzel Washington is going to star in a drastically
different stage production from the other Hollywood
heavyweights traversing the continent to play on Broadway,
(Daniel Radcliffe, Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Katie Holmes and Julia
Stiles are among others).
Washington, who
is universally known simply as Denzel, will revive the timeless
classic Fences, the play from August Wilson that details the
hilarious and tragic circumstances of African Americans in the 20th
century.
Here’s why you
need to see Denzel in Fences:
1. The
infrequency of Denzel’s Broadway appearances: Though Denzel is a
New York native, this will be the first time he’s has returned to
Broadway since 2005, when he played the role of Brutus in the revival
of Julius Caesar. Denzel was the sole ingredient that made the play a
box-office smash despite mixed reviews from critics. There is no
telling when Denzel will decide, or become inspired, to return to the
epicenter of American theater again.
2. Chance to see
Denzel up close and in person: Two-time Oscar winner Tom Hanks said
working with Denzel was like going to “film school.” Two-time
Academy Award winner Jodie Foster called Denzel the best actor she’s
ever worked with. Moviegoers may have their only chance to witness
sheer genius live and in person. Fans of Denzel, 54, will be
delighted to see how the James Earl James of this generation reprises
the role of, well, James Earl Jones.
3. Theater
aficionados should be delighted over the exquisitely haunting writing
style of the late, legendary August Wilson, a writer of colossal
talent who passed in 2005. The piece won a Pulitzer Prize for drama
and a Tony Award for best play in 1987.
4. A drama with
massive commercial appeal: Despite its poignant subject matter,
Fences was one of Wilson’s biggest hits on Broadway, running for
525 performances.
5. The
familiarity of a dream deferred or crushed: in the 1987 version,
James Earl Jones played an ex-baseball player named Troy, whose dream
of playing professionally was wrecked by rabid racism. Also, veterans
who saw the play in the 1980s can return to see if the material is
altered, if at all, in the era of President Barack Obama and the
splendor of the first family of color in U.S. history. –terry shropshire
