Denzel Ready For Fences
Denzel Washinton has finally agreed to star as patriarch Troy Maxson in the August Wilson revival of Fences, which centers around U.S. race-relations in the 1950s.
When asked about Denzel’s involvement, producer Scott Rudin said:
“Denzel and I have been having conversations about this one role for years. This was no sudden thought. A long time ago he met August Wilson at Wilson’s home in Seattle. It was a rainy afternoon, and they spent time talking. And he loved this particular play. He always wanted to do it ‘one day.’
“The reason it was ‘one day’ was because Denzel’s role in ‘Fences’ is that of the patriarch father. The character is 54. Denzel didn’t think he was old enough. So many years have passed and we’ve talked about it so long, and he’s already done Broadway in 2005 as Brutus in a ‘Julius Caesar’ revival, so that he now feels he’s old enough.
“Also, playing his wife in this is Viola Davis, who was Oscar-nominated for her big scene as the mother of the boy in the film ‘Doubt.’ Viola’s appeared in two Wilson plays, one of which, ‘King Hedley II,’ won her a Tony. And they know one another. It was Denzel who directed Viola in the film ‘Antwone Fisher.’ “
Fences will open at the Cort Theatre in NYC in April.
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