The Tony Award winning & How To Get Away With Murder star Viola Davis will return to the role that garnered her her 2nd Tony Award. Davis will star in a film adapation of August Wilson’s play Fences as “Rose” and it will be directed by Denzel Washington, who was her co-star, “Troy,” in the play on Broadway in 2010, which won him a Tony Award as well, and was directed by Kenny Leon.
“They are making Fences, August Wilson’s play, into a feature that Denzel Washington is directing and I’m going to be in,” the actress told The New York Times.
The two-time Oscar nominated star has only been seen on Broadway in August Wilson pieces, which is what makes this really special. She also won her first Tony Award for her role in King Hedley II starring opposite Brian Stokes Mitchell & Leslie Uggams. It has not been said if Denzel Washington will reprise his role in the film also. However, we hope that we will be willing to perform double duty as director and star.
UPDATE: DENZEL WASHINGTON WILL HELP BRING ENTIRE WILSON CYCLE TO HBO – READ MORE HERE
Fences is a 1983 play by American playwright August Wilson. Set in the 1950s, it is the sixth in Wilson’s ten-part “Pittsburgh Cycle,” a set of 10 plays set in Pittsburgh throughout an entire century. Like all of the “Pittsburgh” plays, Fences explores the evolving African-American experience and examines race relations, among other themes. The show centers on Troy Maxson, a Pittsburgh sanitation worker who once dreamed of a baseball career, but was too old when the major leagues finally admitted black players. As he faces off against the racial barrier at work and his own disappointments, Troy also grapples with his son Cory over the teenager’s hope for a football scholarship and with his wife, Rose, who confronts Troy over a child he has fathered with another woman.
The original Broadway production hit broadway in 1987. It won the Pulitzer Prize and Best Play Tony Award as well as Best Actor for James Earl Jones and Best Actress for (Mary Alice). The same roles and Tony Awards later played/won by Washington and Davis in the revival.
Watch Washington & Davis talk about Broadway’s 2010 Fences below!
