“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!

The post Viola Davis Will Star In Film of Wilson’s Fences Directed By Denzel Washington appeared first on Broadway Black.

Black theatre. A space of inspired creativity, performance art and social commentary on the lives of everyday people. As the curtains open and our stories unfold, we are transported to a place where our dreams and realities intermingle with song, dance and powerful dialogue. When the curtains close and the theatre goes dark, we are left with emotions, memories, images and often quotes that reflect the highs and lows of African American existence.

Let’s take a moment and revisit, in no particular order, ten inspirational quotes from some of our favorite pieces.

1. On loving one another:

“There is always something left to love. And if you ain’t learned that, you ain’t learned nothing.” – Loraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun

2. Beginning a journey into the unknown:

“Count your blessings, cut your losses and follow the yellow brick road.” –The Wiz

3. Because sometimes your dreams are right there in front of you:

“Ev’ry man has his own special dream. And your dream’s just about to come true. Life’s not as bad as it may seem, if you open your eyes to what’s in front of you!” –Dreamgirls

4. On choices:

“When the sins of our fathers visit us, we do not have to play host. We can banish them with forgiveness as God, in His Largeness and Laws.” ― August Wilson, Fences

5. On our own divinity:

“I am an expression of the divine, just like a peach is, just like a fish is. I have a right to be this way…I can’t apologize for that, nor can I change it, nor do I want to… We will never have to be other than who we are in order to be successful…We realize that we are as ourselves unlimited and our experiences valid. It is for the rest of the world to recognize this, if they choose.” – Alice Walker, The Color Purple

6. On relaxing and enjoying the moment:

“Summertime, and the living is easy.” –Porgy and Bess

7. On learning to love yourself:

“I found god in myself and I loved her. I loved her fiercely” –Ntozake Shange, For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf

8. On personal empowerment and survival:

“I’m poor, black; I may even be ugly. But dear God! I’m here! I’m here! –Alice Walker, The Color Purple

9. On getting yourself together to fulfill your potential:

“Look inside yourself, Simba. You are more than you have become; take your place in the circle of life.” –The Lion King

10. On being okay with starting over:

“I ain’t never found no place for me to fit. Seem like all I do is start over. It ain’t nothing to find no starting place in the world. You just start from where you find yourself.” ― August Wilson, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone

 

Now, tell us what are some of your favorite inspirational quotes from African American theatre? Drop your favorites in the comments!

The post Inspirational Quotes For The Black Theatre Lover appeared first on Broadway Black.

Recently, Washington shared his inspirational message with teens from the Boys & Girls Club of Baton Rouge. His advice: Be humble. Give thanks. Give back. Put in work. Be smart. Get educated.

Washington, who is in the city filming a remake of “The Magnificent Seven” with Chris Pratt, is the national spokesperson for the Boys’ Club. He shared stories from his childhood and the lessons he’s learned throughout his life with the youth at the Baton Rouge Club. The Boys Club of Mt. Vernon helped him through trying times at home after his parents separated.

“I thought I was a man. I thought I was tougher than my mom,” he said. “I had one foot in the penitentiary. I didn’t go, but I was doing wrong things.”

Washington said the club gave him a sense of belonging and being around responsible adults helped him fall in with the “right pack” of people.

“Initially, it was just going, meeting new friends and competing, and the lessons were being laid in while you were playing basketball or running track,” Washington said. “They weren’t served up as lessons … but that’s what they became.”

He also added that, although he didn’t decide to be an actor until his junior year in college, the seeds for his career path were planted at the Boys & Girls Club. It was there that he learned that it takes more than talent to succeed.

“It’s not what you have,” he said, “it’s what you do with what you have.”

Although he has had a storied career full of accolades, including two Academy Awards and a Tony Award for his lead role in August Wilson’s Fences, Washington has remained active in the Boys & Girls Club of America. He became national spokesperson in 1992, was inducted in the Club’s Hall of Fame in 1993, joined the organization’s Board of Governors in 1996, and received the Herbert Hoover Humanitarian Award, the Club’s highest tribute to a volunteer, in 2004. In 2006, Washington wrote A Hand to Guide Me to share a message about the positive influence mentors can have on youth.

The post Denzel Washington Inspires Youth at Boys and Girls Club appeared first on Broadway Black.

The Morningside Players was founded in 1974 with a mission to present “vibrant, meaningful new works and classic plays to our Morningside Heights community and beyond”. Using community and professional actors, the company has seen great success over the decades and was the recipient of the 2014 AUDELCO Award for Best Revival for their production of The Old Settler.

Their current production of the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning Fences has been moving audiences for the past few weeks with its deft direction and sterling performances. This timeless story of love, family, and redemption is not to be missed.

The added performances of The Morningside Players production of Fences by August Wilson are Friday, June 5th and Sunday, June 7th. For tickets and more information, visit www.morningsideplayers.org

Watch a clip from the 2010 Broadway production starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis below.

The post August Wilson’s Fences Extends At Morningside Players appeared first on Broadway Black.

On today: we celebrate the 70th birthday of the “distiller of the Black experience,” #AugustWilson. #AllAUGUSTAllDay. pic.twitter.com/lcWXEGfIrF

— Broadway Black (@BroadwayBlack) April 27, 2015

Our followers jumped at the opportunity to join in the praise…

 

“All of human life is universal…it is theatre that illuminates the ability to speak for all man” #AllAUGUSTAllDaypic.twitter.com/3JKP18WfW8

— Mind Bar (@by_Meghan) April 27, 2015

#AugustWilson wrote the Black voice for all decades… You think “outchea” would be included in a cycle for today? #AllAUGUSTAllDay — Congo Square Theater (@congosquareCHI) April 27, 2015

Cherished memory. The cast of 7Guitars @CENTERSTAGE_MD with The Man. Happy Birthday #AugustWilson #AllAUGUSTAllDay pic.twitter.com/IBRKsNC4aQ

— Linda Powell (@lindapnyc) April 28, 2015

#AugustWilson #quotes #AllAugustAllDay https://t.co/eMWT2IAT9w

— Goodman Theatre (@GoodmanTheatre) April 27, 2015

Happy Monday! Loving this #AllAUGUSTAllDay in celebration of August Wilson.

— ReBecca Theodore (@FilmFatale_NYC) April 27, 2015

4/27/45 — Frederick August Kittel is born. The world grew to know and love him as #AugustWilson. #AllAUGUSTAllDay. pic.twitter.com/HOzTAU1pDR

— Broadway Black (@BroadwayBlack) April 27, 2015

August Wilson was an American playwright who did the unheard of- penning ten plays. One for each decade of the twentieth century for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. The Century Cycle gave a glimpse into American history through the lens of the Black experience. It included: Fences, Jitney, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Gem of the Ocean, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Two Trains Running, Radio Golf, and King Hedley II. What made Wilson’s work so incredible is that he did not write the plays sequentially. In fact, the last play he wrote and staged, Gem of the Ocean, is actually the first in the cycle.

Many of today’s most successful black actors and actresses have been a part of August Wilson’s work. Talents like Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, James Earl Jones, Taraji P. Henson, Courtney B. Vance, Phylicia Rashad and too many others to list have all had the opportunity to live in Wilson’s worlds and obtain great success.

“I think the play offers (white Americans) a different way to look at black Americans… For instance, in ‘Fences’ they see a garbageman, a person they don’t really look at, although they see a garbageman every day. By looking at Troy’s life, white people find out that the content of this black garbageman’s life is affected by the same things- love, honor, beauty, betrayal, duty. Recognizing that these things are as much part of his life as theirs can affect how they think about and deal with black people in their lives.”

-“August Wilson, Theater’s Poet of Black America, Is Dead at 60” The New York Times, October 3, 2005.

August Wilson understood the power of the theatre and used it to its full potential by inserting honesty and realism into every play. The lines read like poetry- exuding love, pain, tragedy, joy, slight, and pride. There is a resounding truth in all of Wilson’s work. It connects us, not only to the Black experience, but to the human experience.

To Mr. Wilson we say thank you for loving our people as a whole. For not censoring our lives, but articulating the meanings to help us better understand ourselves. Thank you for your integrity and empowerment. For allowing your characters to be vivid, complex, angry, happy, confused, arrogant, and gracious. Thank you for creating substantial and sustainable work that is constantly giving to every generation until the end of time… Much love, sir.

The post All Hail King August Wilson! appeared first on Broadway Black.

Chalk will be playing the role embodied by Morgan Freeman in the Christopher Nolan films — Lucius Fox, “Wayne Enterprises’ resident tech genius as well as a moral beacon for a young Bruce Wayne.” This comes on the heels of Jada Pinkett Smith’s announcement that she likely WON’T be returning to the series for season two. Chalk will make his first appearance in episode 21 of the current (first) season.

Chris was most recently seen on HBO’s The Newsroom, in a supporting role (playing ‘Gary Cooper’). He was also in Steve McQueen’s Oscar-winning film, 12 Years a Slave. Up next we can catch Chris opposite Viola Davis (again) and Jennifer Lopez in the drama/thriller Lila & Eve.

WATCH Chris and Denzel Washington at work in the Broadway revival of Fences, from 2010:

The post Chris Chalk Will Join The Cast Of Gotham On Fox appeared first on Broadway Black.