The superintendent of schools in Central Falls, Rhode Island wanted to fire all the teachers. Arne Duncan thought that was a fine idea. Even President Obama applauded the decision.
But at last night’s Tony Awards, Viola Davis, a Central Falls alum, won the prize for Best Actress in a Drama for her portrayal of the wife of Denzel Washington’s character in August Wilson’s great play, Fences.
She made a special point of thanking God and her Central Falls teachers.
Lucky for God that he doesn’t have to answer to Arne Duncan.
Viola Davis, from Central Falls, and Denzel Washington, the two stars of the revival of August Wilson’s “Fences,” won for best actors in a play and gave speeches that seemed to complement each other.
“My mother always says, ‘Man gives the award, God gives the reward.’ I guess I got both tonight,” Washington said after winning for his performance as the sanitation man who might have been a baseball star. It was his first Tony Award and nomination.
“I don’t believe in luck or happenstance. I absolutely believe in the presence of God in my life,” said Davis, honored for playing Washington’s all-sacrificing wife. “It feels like such a divine experience eight times a week.”
Davis also thanked “the teachers of Central Falls in Rhode Island.” Many of those teachers, of course, narrowly missed being fired en masse this year in a bid to turn the city’s struggling high school around.
Fences is such a good play. James Earl Jones was the last Black actor to win a Tony in this category and that was for the original Broadway production of the August Wilson play.
August Wilson wrote ten plays that chronicled the African-American experience in each decade of the 20th Century. The last play, Radio Golf, was produced just after his death several years ago.
We were fortunate that all the plays were produced at the Goodman Theater in Chicago before heading for Broadway. Anne and I always attended these productions and we always made sure that we bought preview seats. Not (only) because they were cheaper. But also because Wilson was always there, sitting in the same seat, stage right, first row past the first aisle. He was easy to spot as he always wore the same cap.
After each play we would walk past him as we left. It took about three plays before I had enough nerve to approach him, shake his hand and thank him for the experience.
When we sat down for Radio Golf, we looked to Wilson’s chair and were hit by the sense of loss at not seeing him in his regular spot.
Fred Klonsky 