Kyle Krichbaum

I attended the performance of Fences at Wright State

Universitys Festival Playhouse theatre on Wednesday, September 17.
Fences by August Wilson is a great show, unlike one I have ever
seen before. The main part of the show centers on Troy Maxson. He is a
garbage man who works long days, and has to take care of his family.
Troy finds a lot of pressure in that. He has a wife, Rose, two sons Cory
and Lyons. Troys brother, Gabe, has lost part of his brain from the war,
and does not know what he is talking about most of the time. The
structure of the play influences the themes and meanings because I
think August Wilson sets everything up really well. He gives examples
of foreshadow right from the first few lines of the show about how Troy
will later cheat on Rose. I think the writing style of this piece is very
truthful. Everything that happens in this show is very close to reality.
Although it is a story, I cannot help but feel like it may hit close to
home with August Wilson. One reason I think this is because it is part
of his Pittsburgh cycle of shows, where August Wilson grew up.
The costumes in the show were very basic. Dont get me wrong,
that is a good thing. The costumes had very bland colors and cheap
materials. This showed very clearly the Maxsons economic status of
the show. My one gripe was Troys work jumpsuit. I was not convinced
that it was something Troy wore on a long day of hauling peoples junk.
It was too clean and too pressed The lighting in the show, in my

opinion, was brilliant. There was never a wonder what time of day it
was, and even when it was an evening or darker time, it was crystal
clear. You could see everything very well. Along with seeing everything
very well were the sets. There were two full-scale buildings. Set
designer, Ryan Sess does a great job filling the stage and using all of
the space realistically and efficiently. The driveway, dirt backyard, and
landscape filled with garbage were all done to exactly what you would
imagine a run-down 1950s home in Pittsburgh to look like. The sound
designer, Emily Hutton, did a fair job. There were times that I was
unable to hear the actors clearly. I am not sure if this was a mic (or lack
of) issue, or if the actor was just speaking quietly. Overall, the sound
was fine, and is not a distracting element to the show.
Law Dunford in the role of Troy was perfection. I absolutely
believed Law from start to finish. He made the character have a full arc
through the entire show. He is an absolute star. Law, however, does not
outshine Jasmine Easler. She is the perfect Rose. I feel her compassion
as a mother, but also the hardness that Troy has manufactured in her
through years of a difficult marriage. Particularly, in the scene where
Troy confesses he is cheating, I also feel Roses pain through Jasmine
as if it were my own. The one character I had mixed feelings about was
Tyrell Reggins as Cory. There were times I thought his acting choices
came from a place of playing a teenage boy. In those moments I
thought they were great. However, in the end of the show when Cory

has come back from years of Military training, he carried himself much
in the same way as the teenage boy character. This leads me to a
conflict of whether he was playing a teenager, or if that was just Tyrell
getting through the majority of the show as himself. It is a good thing
he does not have to play the latter parts of the show very long. I found
them very unconvincing and unmoving.
I found the directing in the show to be lacking. There were
moments such as the one where Cory is back from years of military
service to see the actor unchanged. This confuses me. If I were a
director, I would catch that almost straight away. It was a very obvious
moment and flaw from a directing standpoint. Other than a few very
obvious moments that went unnoticed by the director, I believe it was
done very well. Whether the director spent the most time with Jasmine
Easler and Law Dunford on getting those characters just spot on, or if it
was the terrific actors themselves, is anyones guess. I am leaning
toward the latter. The pace of the show was very good both times I saw
it. I think it is a writers flaw toward the beginning as far as getting the
show set up, but when the show moves, it sails. The action becomes
clear and the timing of the show was all appropriate.
Unfortunately for the actors, the audience was dead. It was a
blue haired crowd of people who were more or lessasleep. I counted
seven people just around my small area (mid house right). This is very

unfortunate because many of those people missed what I thought were

some of the most important moments. The greatest focus by the
audience in the show was any time there was a scene between Law
Dunford and Jasmine Easler, or monologues by either of their
characters. Whenever the two of them were not talking all I saw were
dropped faces and drooling elders.
Overall, I liked the show. It is not a spectacle, it is real life
portrayed truthfully. I saw the show twice and I could not bear to sit
through it a third time. What I did see was terrific performances from
young, well trained actors and a great show for Wright State
Universitys 40th Season show line up.