Page 8
May 16, 2018
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
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Lester Purry stars in ‘Fences,’ the August Wilson play about a husband, father, former athlete and
garbage collector trying to define himself in 1950s Pittsburgh. The play with its African-American
narrative tackles issues of mental health and the impacts of racism. Now playing through June 10 at
Portland Playhouse, 602 N.E. Prescott St.
Dismantling Barriers
Find Local and
National News at
“Fences’ drama at Portland Playhouse
Portland Playhouse presents
‘Fences’ another August Wil-
son play with an amazing Afri-
can-American narrative where the
issues of mental health and racism
undergird a powerful and engag-
ing script.
The production opened this
month at the theater’s newly ren-
ovated performance venue at 602
N.E. Prescott St. and runs through
June 10. It is the seventh of the late
African American playwright’s
10-play “American Century Cy-
cle” that the Playhouse has staged
Fences” is a story about Troy, a
53-year-old black husband, father,
former athlete and now garbage
collector who struggles to define
himself both inside and out of his
1950s Pittsburgh home. It asks
“What makes us choose the things
we keep at a distance and what we
decide to let in?”
Lou Bellamy, the founding Ar-
tistic Director of Penumbra The-
atre Company, which has produced
more August Wilson productions
than any company in the world, in-
cluding the premiere of “Jitney!,”
directs the Portland production.
In honor of Mental Health
Month, a panel discussion aimed
at dismantling barriers and ad-
dressing the needs of mental
health access and services for the
black community will be held fol-
lowing the 2 p.m. matinee on Sun-
day, May 20. You do not need to
attend the performance to attend
this discussion.
On June 10, in honor of Fathers
Day, a special discussion will fol-
low the play giving black fathers
and their sons an intimate conver-
sational experience on “What we
say, what we wished we said, and
the things rarely heard outside the
black home.”
For tickets and more informa-
tion, visit portlandplayhouse.org.
PassinArt Play Confronts Gentrification
www.portlandobserver.com
ROSE Community Devel-
opment in Lents and the local
African-American theater com-
pany PassinArt are presenting
“Repulsing the Monkey,” a play
about gentrification, May 21-23
and May 28-30 with 7:30 p.m.
shows at TEAM Event Center,
9201 S.E. Foster Rd.
Two post-show discussions
with artists and community
members to examine the impact
of gentrification on diverse com-
munities in the Portland area will
take place after the shows on
Monday, May 21 and Wednes-
day, May 30.
Tickets from $5 to $15 can be
purchased online at PassinArt: A
Theatre Company at passinart.
net or by calling 503-235-8079.
Tickets will also be available at
the door based on availability.
Repulsing the Monkey is a
story about a brother and a sister
who have inherited their parents’
bar in a blue collar neighborhood
in Pittsburgh. The area is becom-
ing gentrified and they struggle
with the question: Should they
sell or should they keep their
family and neighborhood’s her-
itage alive?