'Gem' rich with black experience
Mystical touch sparkles through compelling tale
of slavery and freedom
ROBIN A. EDGAR
Special to the Observer
If you are looking for relief from the drought, August Wilson's "Gem of the Ocean," which opened during a thunderstorm Wednesday at Actor's Theatre, may quench your thirst -- metaphorically that is.
Sprinkled with mystical elements, such as a 287-year-old woman and a whiskey-induced imaginary boat ride, the play manages to bring authenticity to the African American experience in a flood of poetic vernacular that tickles your funny bone as it drives home Wilson's views about slavery and freedom.
The ninth of a 10-play cycle often called The Pittsburgh Cycle, "Gem" is set in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, where the award-winning African American playwright grew up.
The peaceful setting of 1904 Wylie Street, home of Aunt Ester (Karen Abercrombie), a former slave and reputed "soul-cleanser," is disturbed when Eli (Douglas A. Welton), Aunt Ester's caregiver, answers frantic knocking at the front door. A young runaway from Alabama, Citizen Barlow (Jeremy DeCarlos), barges in seeking Ester to cleanse him.
Told to return on Tuesday, he leaves. But Eli, seeing the stranger still standing across the street, complains to Aunt Ester's housekeeper and protégé, Black Mary, played with remarkable presence and purpose by Kim Watson Brooks.
Their attention quickly turns to an incident at a mill where a black man accused of stealing a bucket of nails jumps into the river and drowns rather than confess to a crime that he didn't commit. Seeing him as a martyr, his co-workers go on strike, and Caesar Wilkes (Marcus Mannard Sherman), the local constable and Black Mary's brother, mounts a self-righteous mission to maintain order, ignoring myriad injustices suffered by the mill workers.
Citizen eventually sneaks in and confesses to Aunt Ester that he has committed a crime that "burns a hole in his chest." She promises to help him find "something else to be the center of his life" and sends him on a spiritual journey aboard the legendary slave ship, Gem of the Ocean. It takes him to the mythical City of Bones to face the truth about his crime. (Although Ken Ellis created a succinctly accurate set, when the neat and tidy parlor transforms into an ocean on which the slave ship floats, the ethereal backdrop, enhanced with lighting by Hallie Gray, seems awkward.)
Director John Rogers Harris plays an even hand in keeping the pace entertaining. Unfortunately, the playwright relies too much on telling the character's back story, as in Caesar's lengthy monologue about how he came to be who he is today. And Aunt Ester, played with steady aplomb by Abercrombie, offers a down-home spiritual guidance and wisdom with one-liners like "Freedom is what you make it." But her preaching tone becomes tiresome toward the end.
It is Sidney Horton's generously human performance that fills the stage, eventually making Eli's friend and former Underground Railroad cohort, Solly Two Kings, the hero.
Although Gem of the Ocean takes place in 1904, the honesty with which the characters interact in response to what the world has dealt them still rings true. It is worth the journey, rain or shine, to watch the characters explore and celebrate African American culture.
Review
Gem of the Ocean
August Wilson's play about social and racial unrest in the Pittsburgh Hill District. About 2 hours, 40 minutes.
WHEN: Through March 1: Wednesday, Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday, Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2:30 p.m. (Feb. 20 is pay what you can.)
WHERE: Actor's Theatre, 650 E. Stonewall St.
TICKETS: $23 -$28.
DETAILS: 704-342-2251; www.actorstheatrecharlotte.org.
