Variety of characters in Wilson's 'Century Cycle'

The primary character whose influence dominates the entire cycle, Aunt Esther, is a towering figure whose combination of folk wisdom and mystical insight becomes the guiding light for many characters. She reaches biblical and mythological status as the plays unfold, finally dying at the age of 366.

A brief summary of the plays in the second half of the cycle introduces characters who are young and impatient, old and wise, steeped in Biblical tradition and skeptical of the white man's God, committed to spouse and children and unfaithful and self-centered, first generation entrepreneurs and third-generation con men, principled preachers and ex-cons. All of these characters carry their burdens into our lives and breathe intense life into each play.

"Fences," set in the 1950s, chronicles the frustrations of a great baseball player, Troy Maxon, who never played an inning in the major leagues because of the color line.