Denzel Washington to Star In August Wilson's FENCES On Broadway

[EddieVarley]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 1:21pm

Click Here to Read Denzel Washington to Star In August Wilson's FENCES On Broadway

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 1:50pm

Denzel isn't really right for this role. The character is working class (was he a garbage collector?) and Denzel doesn't really "read" as working class.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 2:14pm

It's called 'acting'.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 2:30pm

It's called costumes, make-up, and good-acting. He can act. I think this will be great!

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 2:41pm

I personally would prefer to see actors like Denzel Washington throw their box office weight behind new plays that in this day and age need star attachment in order to get produced. There are so many other black writers worthy of Broadway productions other than August Wilson...

[Testing1232]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 5:32pm

It would be really sad to see anyone mess up "Fences"- Think Denzel will be fine, but would love to see Chisholm in the role !

[Pgenre]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 5:35pm

I agree with MB and I'm just gonna leave it at that.

P

P.S. I fell asleep halfway through reading "Denzel Stars in August Wilson's".....zzzzzzzz....

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 6:29pm

Anyone for Angela Bassett as Rose? Not unique casting, but she and Washington would make a fine pair.

[AC126748]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 10:17pm

Bassett would be a good choice (and she got very good reviews when she did the California production with Laurence Fishbourne). I don't think she's done a play in New York since Macbeth, so it would be great to have her back after a long absence. But my money is on Viola Davis, though.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 10:18pm

I'd love to see Viola Davis in this!

[JasonM12480]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 10:19pm

Get ready for tickets that cost $800 a pop, for back of the top balcony seating. LOL

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 10:28pm

Viola Davis...Please!!!!

Oh! Saidah Arrika Ekulona! Adriane Lenox!

[AC126748]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 10:34pm

Also Sanaa Lathan, Portia and Charlayne Woodard, just to name a few. Many fine actresses that we can hope for. And the perk of having Denzel attached is that you won't then need a "name" in every role.

[fgreene1938]

Posted: 11/10/09 at 11:41pm

As a "type" I think Washington is right for the role. He has certainly played everyday characters before (most recently in the awful PELHAM 1-2-3). He's older now, not the young matinee guy of years ago, so he should be able to fit the character. And his presence would definitely boost the box office, just as it did in JUILIUS CAESAR a few years back. Here's the thing: I saw that performance and he was vacant on the stage, unable to sustain characterization over the evening and completely devoid of subtext. As an actor used to doing 30-to-90 second takes and retakes in movies, I don't think he has the technique to pull off this role. Fan or no fan, movie acting is a completely different species to theater, and plenty of movie and TV stars have failed artistically on BW due to their lack of theatrical basics.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 11/11/09 at 4:10am

Prior to his movie success, Washington had plenty of New York theatre credits and he should not be categorized as some casually slumming it movie star with no knowledge or experience with stage acting. I remember him being excellent in the original production of A Soldier's Play in the 1980s. He also did several Shakespeares at the Public and a not great Broadway play, Checkmates, prior to his rise in the 1990s or his Broadway return in Julius Caesar, which I'll admit was not an ideal fit.

Side note: since Washington was working here in the 1980s and in fact, Checkmates followed the run of Fences in the 46th Street Theatre, I'm sure Washington must have seen James Earl Jones in the role and must know what he's getting himself into. It's certainly a role where "larger than life" is a requirement.

Updated On: 11/11/09 at 04:10 AM

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 11/11/09 at 9:14am

According to Reidel, he did!

http://www.nypost.com/p/entertainment/theater/denzel_swings_for_the_fences_XxD2KXZ45RgxyAYqpljflI

And going back to my original post, knowing now that this production is in line for a film treatment, perhaps Bassett would be a good fit.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 11/11/09 at 1:20pm

Though with Viola Davis being an Oscar-nominee now as well (though obviously without the kind of appeal that Bassett has), it'll be wonderful if she were cast in both the Broadway run and the subsequent film adaptation.
I do wonder why Suzan-Lori Parks is no longer attached as director.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 11/11/09 at 1:30pm

"I do wonder why Suzan-Lori Parks is no longer attached as director."

On that subject, is anyone else disappointed in the selection of Kenny Leon as director? I find his work to be effective but rarely inspired. Now Sher's work on "Joe Turner" on the other hand....that was a singular interpretation of a Wilson play. Extraordinary.

[Jon]

Posted: 11/11/09 at 7:34pm

Denzel was amazing in "A Soldier's Play". At the time, his only movie credit was the awful "Carbon Copy" with George Segal. Seeing him in Soldier's Play, you could tell he was destined to be a star.

On a side note, it's really sad that all his Soldier's Play co-stars - Adolph Caesar, Larry Riley, Charles Brown and (from the movie) Howard Rollins are all deceased.

[AC126748]

Posted: 11/11/09 at 8:17pm

I agree about Kenny Leon--he's a competent but boring director. Don't expect the magic that Sher worked with Joe Turner's Come and Gone from him.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 11/11/09 at 9:25pm

Please keep Phylicia Rashad away from this.

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 11/12/09 at 8:58am

^LOL! God bless her, and I think she's such a talent, but I completely agree with you Gothampc.