Hattiloo knocks a modern classic out of the park.

By Chris Davis | The Memphis Flyer

I possess a fairly reliable recipe for making an August Wilson play. To begin, you take Arthur Miller's Death of a

Steven Fox and T.C. Sharpe in Fences, playing at the Hattiloo Theatre

Salesman and paint it black. Then you take the wholesome, all-American backyard setting of Miller's All My Sons, wreck it, and move it to the slums of Anytown, USA. Add a pinch of hope to brighten the corners of the bleakest family tragedies of the 20th century, then fold all these ingredients together with such densely imagistic language that even Shakespeare might be envious. Let it all simmer over a low heat for about three hours and applaud.

Fences, which is currently getting a healthy workout at the Hattiloo Theatre, is just such an amalgamation of American theatrical styles and traditions. But when Wilson's prize-winning plays are well-cast and hitting on all cylinders, they can make you forget those out-of-date honkies to which he's so frequently compared.

Burned out, lackadaisical. That's how Ekundayo Bandele describes himself after completing a yet-to-be-published novel last spring. But the New York native didn't turn off his cell phone and crawl under the covers. Instead, he took up a friend's challenge to launch a new theatre, one that would cross color lines.

True, the Hattiloo Theatre includes "Black Repertory" in its name. "That's because we want black people to feel welcome and comfortable," explains Bandele, who says that playgoers who attend Memphis' eight other venues are almost all white. "And those have empty seats because they're not attracting 64 percent of the population. So we're starting a campaign to get African-Americans to the theatre. They're missing out on so much." As for drawing white playgoers, Bandele believes the quality of the shows will bring them out in force.