The Penumbra Theatre Company production of
Gem of the Ocean
by August Wilson
directed by Lou Bellamy
The ninth work in August Wilson's decade-by-decade cycle of dramas chronicling the African American experience during the 20th century, Gem of the Ocean is chronologically the first play in this unprecedented series.
Set in Pittsburgh in 1904, it introduces us to Aunt Esther, a 287-year-old fiery matriarch, and her fascinating world. She welcomes into her Hill District home Solly Two Kings, who was born into slavery and scouted for the Union Army, and Citizen Barlow, a young man from Alabama searching for a new life. Bewildered by the collapse of the old slave regime, the first generation of black Americans recently freed from slavery are unprepared for the backlash against their newly acquired freedom by whites. Many venture north and find themselves at Aunt Esther’s door, seeking solace, advice or a place to heal.
