Between fantasy and reality: 'Gem of the Ocean'

Taking the audience to 1904 Pittsburgh and then back through emancipation, the Civil War and ultimately a slave voyage, all with bitter realism and mystical fantasy, August Wilson's "Gem of the Ocean" presents a view of the African-American experience without pretense or apology. The play, which opened for a preview performance on Tuesday night and will run through Oct. 30 at the Matthews Theatre at the McCarter Theatre Center, was Wilson's penultimate work, followed only by "Radio City" before Wilson died of liver cancer on Oct. 2 of this year.

Wilson's first acclaimed play, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," premiered in 1984 as part of a nine play-long collection and documents one decade of the African-American experience in the 20th century. "Gem of the Ocean," although written ninth in the series, is set in the first decade of the century and presents the plight of a newly freed generation of African-Americans as they struggle with emancipation and the quickly closing doors of opportunity it was supposed to bring.

The director, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, an award-winning actor who created and starred in the one-man show "Lackawanna Blues," seems to closely follow Wilson's vision, blending realism and fantasy seamlessly and appropriately and presenting its words and meaning without pretense or apparent manipulation. The set, while elaborate, complements the story and seems natural and unobtrusive. Although the humorously tilted door and window frames and absurdly high staircase may seem slightly ridiculous at first, these features effectively mirror the blend of fantasy and reality in Wilson's work and provide support for the actors as they try to combine these elements in their performance.

Far more noticeable than the set or even the directing, however, is the production's brilliant acting. The play stars Phylicia Rashad, who has also appeared on stage and screen in works such as "A Raisin in the Sun," "The Cosby Show," and "Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored." Rashad plays Aunt Ester, a 285-year-old women who holds the entire history of the African-American experience in America to 1904 in her memories. Aunt Ester is reputed to be a healer and serves as a spiritual leader, guiding Citizen Barlow, a new resident of Pittsburgh, to "wash his soul" in the City of Bones.

Barlow, played by Russell Hornsby, seeks Ester's help because he has stolen a bucket of nails from the mill where he works because the mill refuses to pay him. Another man has been accused of stealing the nails and drowns himself to escape facing the consequences of the law for a crime he did not commit. Barlow believes he, in essence, has killed this man and thus wants Ester to wash his soul and absolve him of sin. Ester then brings him back in time to a slave ship, the Gem of the Ocean, on its Middle Passage and to the City of Bones, a place built out of the bones of Africans who died during the journey to become slaves. The City of Bones also serves as a heaven-like area, where gatekeepers extort payment for entrance. Barlow discovers that his gatekeeper is the same man who killed himself for Barlow's crime and is then able to redeem himself by confessing honestly to the ghost.

Although the journey back in time and the City of Bones are almost absurdly mystical and fantastic, they are presented forthrightly and as serious and crucial elements not only of the play but also of the African-American experience. While perhaps difficult to believe and certainly challenging to integrate into an otherwise realistic story, the directing and acting of these parts creates an excellent flow from the harsh reality of turn-of-the-century Pittsburgh to a mythic undersea world.

Besides strong performances from Hornsby and Rashad, Roslyn Ruff as Black Mary, a washerwoman in Ester's house, also stands out. Her monologue on what it means to be a woman, delivered in response to sexual advances from Barlow, is one of the strongest parts of the play and is brilliantly delivered. This scene also displays the superb insight of August Wilson, who captures the female voice exceptionally well.

John Amos also delivers an excellent performance when he plays Solly Two Kings, a runaway slave who worked in the Underground Railroad and sometimes courts Aunt Ester. Amos, well known as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace on "The West Wing," turns Solly into a strong character by avoiding predictable pitfalls such as appearing bumbling or being excessively stereotypical. Chuck Peterson as Eli, Ester's caretaker, does venture close to that mistake, but he still manages to deliver somewhat of a sidekick role with strength and dignity.

Overall, one of the greatest strengths of the acting is its ability to highlight the best of Wilson's talent. Wilson is known for his unapologetic portrayals of African-American life, written as raw fictions without any translation for white audiences, unlike other racially-oriented works. Part of this honesty comes from Santiago-Hudson's ability to blend the magic and realistic fluidly, allowing the play to be uninterrupted by the presence of this element, which is generally nontraditional in modern Western drama. Wilson's genius, however, is best seen in the words he writes for his exceptionally real characters. Not only does he capture a female voice almost perfectly with Black Mary, but he also adds incredible aphorisms into all of the characters' lines, while still grounding them in a sense of realism and believability.

Ultimately, McCarter's production of "Gem of the Ocean" serves as a well-deserved tribute to Wilson's talent and contributions to American culture, a glimpse of Wilson at the height of his career. While some characters come close to being overly stereotypical and some audiences may have difficulty watching the fantastic elements of the play, the staging, acting and direction generally maximize the effectiveness and artistic merit of the work. The production not only honors Wilson's legacy, but also does justice to his superlative work. "Gem of the Ocean" will be playing in McCarter Theatre from Oct. 11-30. For more information, visit mccarter.org.