It is eerily emblematic that the official opening night of August Wilson’s epic ‘Gem of the Ocean’ occurred on the eve of Black History Month, when 17 Historically Black Colleges across several states were forced to close down due to bomb threats. Wilson’s masterpiece is set in 1904, where the chains of slavery still echo disturbingly in the minds of the inhabitants of Aunt Ester’s boarding house in Pittsburgh’s Hill District. The Civil War, Emancipation, the Underground Railroad and the failed charade of Reconstruction are all as present-day to its denizens as the spirits conjured by Aunt Ester (a mesmerizing Lisa Gaye Dixon, who is a veteran of Goodman’s A Christmas Carol). Myth and redemptive hallucination, bordering on a Timothy Leary mind-trip, dominate this soul-searching drama that borders on the Shakespearean.
Brilliant stage craft, light and sound helmed by director Chuck Smith, a Goodman veteran who has helmed Wilson’s productions in various cities, and who served as dramaturg to the World Premiere of Gem of the Ocean in 2003, makes this play a must-see. If you are not a Goodman subscriber, perhaps you should rethink your priorities!
Looming behind it all is the specter of the oppressive local mill, the primary source of employment in the Hill District, which both dominates and oppresses the lives of its inhabitants. The shouldering flames of resentment and outrage build in concert with the emotional volcanics of the play.
Sharif Atkins, makes his meteoric Goodman Theatre debut as the play’s focus Citizen Barlow, a guilt-ridden soul in need of redemption, who steals his way into Aunt Ester’s lair, only to find himself on a voyage that will threaten his very perceptions of his own identity and his place in the universe.
James A. Williams, a Goodman/August Wilson veteran, literally dominates the stage as Solly Two Kings, a former chain gang prisoner and descent of slaves, who still carries a link from his chains of bondage. He says he carries it as a good luck charm, but the sinister tone in his voice implies that its purpose lies much deeper.
- Smith, another Goodman/Wilson alumni (Two Trains Running), is the skeptical Eli, Aunt Esters confident and protector.
The characters are exceptionally well drawn in Wilson’ searing drama and the soliloquy’s they speak rank right up there with Hamlet, King Richard II or Lady Macbeth.
Sydney Charles is a captivating force as Black Mary, who is central to Citizen Barlow’s metamorphosis.
The stellar portrayals throughout are too numerous to recount here. The entire ensemble works in concert to bring Wilson’s brilliant epiphany on race, religion, history and black mythology to fruition. The layer upon layer of symbolism sparked an almost accident-causing debate between my wife and I on the way home from the premiere. Its disturbing images prompted overnight dreams of past conflicts and struggles that had been long buried and suppressed in my subconscious. Yes, it’s just that heavy!
Gem of the Ocean explores the torments and strivings of the human spirit against past demons.
The play is nearly three hours in length with a 15- minute intermission. Vaccination verification must be shown and masks must be worn throughout the duration.
The time passes “in the Twinkling of an Eye” as Shakespeare says in The Merchant of Venice. In his own way, August Wilson says it so much better and with far more meaning.
For tickets and information, visit goodmantheatre.org.