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What would American drama be without bad dads? Destructive fathers rage through the work of Eugene O’Neill, Arthur Miller and Sam Shepard. Then there’s Troy Maxson, the bitter ex-ballplayer of August Wilson’s "Fences." This larger-than-life patriarch steps up the plate for another inning, thanks to the star power of Denzel Washington.

As played with muscular charisma by Washington, Troy is a cocky family man whose deferred dreams have hardened into resentment. After he did 15 years in jail for murder, Troy’s hope of joining the Major Leagues never materialized. Now 53, he finds himself hauling garbage in Pittsburgh in 1957, a black man kept down by the white establishment.

Troy is full of tall tales and worldly advice -- some solid, some dubious. After 18 years, he still seems devoted to his wife, Rose, played by the fiery Viola Davis, and he warns his football-playing son Cory, played by Chris Chalk, to forget sports scholarships and learn a trade. Maybe Troy is being practical, but it’s more likely he’d rather squash his son’s dreams than see him succeed.

Troy is a man caught between the past and the future. He has a grown son from a previous affair and soon will father another child by a new mistress.

Staged with warmth and grace by Kenny Leon, "Fences" unfolds with the easy rhythms of lived life, with laughter giving way to heartache and then bittersweet acceptance.

The supporting cast includes strong turns by Russell Hornsby as Troy’s ne’er-do-well first son, Lyons, and the stalwart Stephen McKinley Henderson as Troy’s loyal friend and coworker, Jim Bono.

With her Act Two breakdown upon hearing that Troy has betrayed her, Viola Davis blows the roof off the Cort Theatre with the spectacle of a soul in agony, a woman wronged. This marital showdown is the centerpiece of "Fences," as Davis burns hot and Washington remains ice cold.

When "Fences" first swept Broadway 23 years ago, James Earl Jones’s portrayal of Troy was reportedly amazing. Denzel Washington also hits a home run with a richly textured, Tony-worthy performance.