Set in August Wilson’s beloved Hill District of Pittsburgh in 1904, Gem of the Ocean is the first installment of the famed playwright’s Pittsburgh Cycle of ten plays, one set in each decade of the 20th century chronicling the African American experience in America. And Wilson is without equal in capturing and putting into words the hard truths, small nuances and everyday heartaches of black folk… and doing so in a manner that everyone, white or black, rich or poor, educated or not, can relate to. The hallmark of Wilson’s talent was his ability to humanize his characters in a manner that made them sympathetic… but not maudlin or mawkish.
The play is set in a home at 1839 Wylie Ave. in Pittsburgh, an address that pops up again and again in other Wilson plays, including the last one in the cycle, Radio Golf. And a magnificent setting it is for this play. Award-winning scenic designer Richard H. Harris, Jr., along with carpenters Prophet D. Seay and Calvin Johnson, have outdone themselves this time. Every physical detail of the staging is architecturally perfect and provides a wonderful space for the actors to practice their craft… and they indeed practice it well.
The address is the home of Aunt Ester, the 285-year-old former slave and “soul-cleanser.” Throughout his body of work Wilson speaks truth to power, but his work is designed to “cleanse” the ugliness, to remove the harm, hurt and pain caused by racism and by doing so to take away its power to hurt the lives of the underclass. Wilson doesn’t forget, but characters like Aunt Ester teach us to forgive. Not for those who harm us, but for ourselves. She shows us how to relieve ourselves of the burden caused by bigotry.
Denny Averhart is excellent in the role of Aunt Ester, and the rest of the cast — Daniel Gray Kontar (in his acting debut) as Ell, Lauren Nicole Sturdivant as Black Mary, Kyle Carthen (who continues to grow as a professional) as Citizen Barlow, Rodney Freeman as Rutherford Selig, and Butch Terry as Solly Two Kings — all do yeoman’s work in the tight production directed by Michael Oatman.
But the meatiest role, that of the villainous Caesar Wilkes, went to Cornell Hubert Calhoun III who played it to the hilt. Wilson made the Wilkes character a policeman, a former baker and a wealthy landowner… a black man who has managed to be successful and now protects the status quo at all costs. But like too many other blacks of today he has “made it” to the middleclass, but instead of, in the words of W.E.B. Dubois, “reaching back to pull his poorer and duller brethren up to his vantage ground,” his mission in life is to help whites in keeping them down. In a span of two hours Wilson made me thoroughly detest the character of Caesar Wilkes by using him to signify, to point out to blacks what they should be doing for each other.
Gem of the Ocean runs through Mon 6/4 in Karamu’s Jelliffe Theatre. http://KaramuHouse.org.
From Cool Cleveland correspondent Mansfield B. Frazier mansfieldfATgmail.com. Frazier’s From Behind The Wall: Commentary on Crime, Punishment, Race and the Underclass by a Prison Inmate is available again in hardback. Snag your copy and have it signed by the author by visiting http://www.neighborhoodsolutionsinc.com.