“Gem of the Ocean”

Recommended *** Last night, attending the opening of August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean” felt very close to the “pre-covid” days of theater. I parked my car at the garage on Dearborn, walked over to Petterino’s ( where I ran into some friends and shared a few laughs) and then went into the Goodman. The new system is having your vac card and ID checked and of course wearing a face mask.  The  concession stands were closed as there is no food or drink in the theater. What is in the theater is a revival of “Gem of the Ocean” almost 20 years later from it’s premier on the very same stage. For those of you unfamiliar with Wilson, this is the first of his ten plays that are known as his American Century Cycle”. There are ten plays, each in a different decade of the 20th century. They  chronicle 100 years of the African American experience.

This production is powerful with a cast that understands Wilson’s words. Sharpley directed by Chuck Smith ( who was part of the original production ) on an outstanding set by Linda Buchanan, we are in Pittsburgh. The area is known as  the Hill District, and if you look closely as each person arrives or leaves through the front door of the house, we see them going up the stairs to the level that is street level. Very cleverly done and I would think many will not notice, but I look at detail in every production. The year is 1904 and while slavery is over, there are remnants that will remain with many for the rest of their lives.

Our main character in this story is Aunt Ester played to perfection by Lisa Gaye Dixon. Ester Tyler is the keeper of history and can help one and all not only cleanse their souls, but start their new lives. Her house is large and is a place of comfort. Black Mary (powerfully played by Sydney Charles) is her main worker, cooking, cleaning and making sure that everything pleases and Eli ( A.C. Smith, who is always right on target) is her “gatekeeper” and protector.

When a newcomer, Citizen Barlow ( deftly handled by Sharif Atkins, a newcomer to The Goodman) arrives from the south, Ester takes him under her wing and takes him on a spiritual awakening that will change his life forever. He arrives by sneaking in through a window and at the start seems to be no good, but over a period of time with Black Mary’s attention and that of Ester and her friends, his life does change, as do the lives of the others.

The other characters in the story are Rutherford Selig, a trader-salesman who supplies Ester’s house with pots and pans and other items, Solly Two Kings ( James A. Williams) who obtains items for others and the brother of Black Mary, Caesar ( the always reliable Kevin Roston jr.) who is a police officer in the community and will do whatever he can to maintain the safety of the community. There is turmoil in the community over the freedom that is due to the African American community and the Mill is set aflame.  During the second act we find out more about the fire itself, and who started it and more. We also see the special “journey” on the Gem that Citizen will take. There is a nice little test he is given by Ester. She tells him that if he should find two pennies on the ground right near each other and picks them up, the world will be his. What she later explains to Black Mary is that there is no secret to the pennies, but once found Citizen will believe in himself and for once feel he is worth something in life.

There are several little items like this, cleverly sewn into the story. This is a powerful look at Black History as written by a wonderful poet turned playwright. As always, the technical aspects of the production are flawless. Evelyn Danner’s costumes, Robert Perry’s lighting, original music and sound by Pornchanok Kanchanbanca and projections by Mike Tutaj were all right on.

“Gem of the Ocean” will continue thru February 27th with performances as follows:

Wednesdays  7:30 p.m.

Thursdays  2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Fridays   8 p.m.

Saturdays  2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Sundays  2 p.m.

Tickets range from $35 and can be purchased at the Goodman box office located at 170 N. Dearborn, by calling  312-443-3800 or www.Goodmantheatre.org

Enhanced and Accessible performances

Touch tour and Audio described- Saturday February 19th 12:30 touch tour – 2 p.m. performance

ASL  Friday February 25th

Open-Captioned  Saturday, February 26th at 2 p.m.

visit www.GoodmanTheatre.org/Access

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Gem of the Ocean”.

The play is 3 hours and 15 minutes with one intermission.