To Alex Morris who plays Jim Bono in the about-to-open Alley Theatre production of August Wilson’s Fences, this is the late playwright’s masterpiece.
“This play will exist long after I’m gone.”
The Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winning Fences is the story of a Black family living in the 1950s whose ties and strength are torn apart when Troy Maxon, Bono’s friend, has an affair. Bono, who met Troy in jail, had respected and looked up to Troy. Both men were in long lasting marriages and both were successfully employed as trash collectors and supported their families.
But as the play goes on it’s apparent that Troy (David Rainey) is not only self-centered as he tells endless stories about himself, but a bitter man who contends that his race held him back from moving up from baseball’s Negro League to the Majors. As a result, when his son Cory has a chance to go to college on a football scholarship, Troy forbids this, saying he doesn’t want his son to experience the racism he has. Cory ends up enlisting in the military.
The biggest betrayal, of course, is that Troy has an affair that leads to a child, whose mother dies in childbirth. He brings the baby to Rose (Michelle Elaine), who agrees to raise the girl, but declares she will have no more to do with Troy.
The Ensemble Theatre’s Artistic Director Eileen J. Morris is directing and just as she did with Ensemble’s production of this play 10 years ago, she has asked the actors to see Fences through the eyes of Rose as well as Troy, Morris says. Troy may be the larger-than-life figure, but Rose is the one who holds things together, despite her own disappointments.
“One of the most brilliant things about the way Eileen directs Fences is that she takes the play from Rose’s point of view,” Morris said. “A lot of people see it centered around Troy. But the true lesson of the play is it is Rose’s unconditional love that not only holds her family together but holds her and Troy’s marriage together.
“People say Wilson doesn’t write great women characters. So untrue. Rose is a great character. She is the tie that binds. And she teaches us the lesson of unconditional love and forgiveness.”
Morris, who said he was the first African American member of the Alley’s Resident Company when it was formed in 1990, has played the Troy role in several productions over the years. This is his first time as Bono and asked to describe him, Morris said:
“Bono is the rock. He’s the rock of Gibraltar. He’s the guy who can speak truth to power. He loves and looks up to his hero Troy and that’s why it’s so devastating when Troy betrays not only Rose’s trust but his trust too.
“When the foundation starts to crumble then the whole community starts to crumble and that’s what happens here.”
Asked why Troy is so self-destructive, Morris said: “Part of it is his own insecurity. A man reaches a certain age; he has attained certain success as a ball player. His own insecurities led him to his downfall He forgot how important he was not only to his family but to the community around him. He was so wrapped up in looking out for himself.
“He says in the play ‘I’ve been standing her for 18 years. I never thought to look at things for myself.’ That’s so flawed. I think Bono’s heartbreak comes when he realizes his hero is not the hero he thought him to be.”
While most audience members recoil at the way Troy treats his son in the play, Morris said “Troy loved his son. He just didn’t know how to love his son. Remember his father left him and treated him very cruelly. His idea of love came from his father. In his own way, Troy loved his son and tried to protect him from the same hurt he felt.”
Again, going back to Rose, Morris said:
“In 1957, what Troy did was a huge scandal, an unthinkable act. Now in 2026 those things are almost kind of pedestrian. But in 1957, what a devastating effect it had. Rose would have to see her peers. She would have to go to church. And to raise a child that was not her own. And you know people were talking; people were whispering. But even her enduring love not only for her family but for this little girl who’s not even her blood is again the incredible story that this play tells.”
Other cast members include Kendrick “KayB” Brown as Lyons, Timothy Eric as Gabriel, Aramie Payton (Broadway: The Outsiders, MJ the Musical) as Cory, and Mila Glenn and Paisley R. Richmond as Raynell.
One of the earlier productions Morris was in, took the cast to Frankfurt Germany, he said. “There weren’t enough seats for all the people who came to see this play. This is not just an African American story. it is a family American story. People can relate to the circumstances and situations that take place in this play. I think it translates very well to audiences of any race and nationality.”
Despite the sad parts of the story, Morris said:
“Here’s the joy of Fences. The joy again is Rose teaching us the unconditional love. The hope. We see Cory. We see his future, We see what Rose has done. There’s the joy, there’s the hope that this play demonstrates. “
Performances of Fences are scheduled for April 17 in previews until Opening Night on April 22 through May 10 at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays and 7 p.m. Sundays at Allery Theatre, 615 Texas. For more information, call 713-220-5700 or visit alleytheatre.org. $36-$108.
