There’s a moment in The Old Globe’s beautifully directed and cast production of “Fences” where the play’s troubled central character stands frozen in the spotlight, his cherish baseball bat poised over his shoulder in launch position, while life moves on around him.
It’s a beautiful and telling moment among many in the production that opened Thursday at the Balboa Park theater. August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play was written in 1985 and set in 1957. But in 2026, it still has the power to transfix an audience, particularly with actor Dorian Missick in the lead role and Delicia Turner Sonnenberg in the director’s chair.
Turner Sonnenberg, who first directed “Fences” in San Diego back in 2008, celebrates the musicality in Wilson’s language and she brings much-needed humor to this production. In the first act, she builds steadily growing tension and darkness that releases itself cathartically in the second act.
“Fences” is the story of Troy Maxson, a Pittsburgh garbage-truck driver in his mid-50s who seems to have it all, an adoring wife, Rose; two grown sons; a paid-off home and a better job than virtually all of the Black men in a city where good jobs almost always go to white men.
But none of this is enough for Troy, who’s haunted by a traumatic childhood. He nurses decades-old grudges, has a roving eye for other women, steals from his disabled brother and treats his unloved sons as financial burdens. The play’s title refers to the wood fence he’s building around his home as well as the metaphorical fence he feels has limited his opportunities for work, romance and a once-promising career in baseball, which was cut short after a prison stint for mufder.
Donathan Walters as Gabriel, left, De’Adre Aziza as Rose, Omari K. Chancellor as Cory, Rondrell McCormick as Jim Bono, and Dorian Missick as Troy in August Wilson’s “Fences” at The Old Globe. (Rich Soublet II)
On paper, Troy sounds unredeemable, but Missick brings empathy, humanity and longing to the role. And De’Adre Aziza, who stars as Troy’s devoted wife, Rose, is the beating heart of the story. Her gradual journey to happiness in the second act is thoroughly satisfying to watch.
All of the supporting cast are also excellent in their roles. Omari K. Chancellor give a heartbreaking performance as Cory, the couple’s youngest son, a bright and promising teen athlete whose dreams are crushed by his controlling father. Mister Fitzgerald has a smooth, easygoing style as elder son Lyons, an aspiring and confident musician.
Sweet and funny Rondrell McCormick plays Jim Boso, Troy’s friend, co-worker and gentle judge. Donathan Walters has a stunning final moment as Troy’s brain-damaged brother Gabriel. And the role of Rose’s grade-school-age stepdaughter Raynell was played on opening night by the adorable 9-year-old Justus Alexander (who alternates in the part with Ariele Maye Rivers).
Lawrence E. Moten III’s multilayered scenic design re-creates the Maxson home in his working-class neighborhood. Yvonne L. Miranda designed costumes. Sherrice Mojgani designed lighting and Leon Rothenberg designed sound.
Back in 2008, Turner Sonnenberg directed “Fences” at San Diego’s Cygnet Theatre and it was one of my favorite productions of that year. Eighteen years later, her new staging of “Fences” is already one of my favorite productions of 2026.
‘Fences’
When: 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 8 p.m. Fridays; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays;, 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays Through May 3
Where: Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, Balboa Park, San Diego
Tickets: $40 and up
Phone: 619-234-5623
Online: theoldglobe.org