Gem of the Ocean
- Broadway Debut
-
December 6, 2004
Kerr Theatre
- Performances
- 72
In 1904, the remembrance and reckonings of former slaves set the stage for many of the themes that permeate August Wilson’s American Century Cycle.
Centered on its strong and allegorical protagonist, Aunt Ester, Gem of the Ocean explores the symbolic and spiritual connection between a turn-of-the-century Black community and its alive and stirring memory of an enslaved past. Set four decades after the Civil War, Wilson uses powerful metaphor to confront essential questions: what is freedom and what is its price? Ethereal and dark, Gem of the Ocean reminds audiences what Wilson so bluntly stated to the New York Times in 1987: “Black America wants to forget slavery—the stigma, the shame. That’s the wrong move. If you can’t be who you are, who can you be?”
In His Own Words
“That’s sixty-two notches. That’s sixty-two people I carried to freedom. I was looking to make it sixty-three when Abraham Lincoln come along and changed all that. Him and General Grant. I never did join the Union Army, but I showed them where to go. I know all the routes. Me and Eli worked together many a time.”Solly, Act 2, Scene 2
August Wilson:
The Writer's Landscape
August Wilson: The Writer’s Landscape, the first-ever exhibition dedicated to the life and works of the Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, will open in spring 2022. The permanent exhibition will explore the people and places of Pittsburgh, where Wilson was born and raised, and which had a profound impact on shaping his worldview.
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