A Gem of a Show

Freedom is an elusive term. It means different things to different people. To some, it is an escape from insufferable hardship; for others, a chance to live out dreams. Ultimately, freedom implies a right to choose our own course, but brings with it no imperative that we be equipped to do so responsibly.

Freedom that came with the end of slavery, and its impact on ex-slaves, is at the crux of August Wilson’s brilliant new play Gem of the Ocean now on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre in New York. The ninth production in his ten play, decade-by-decade perspective on African American life in the 20th Century, this play examines the physical and spiritual journey taken by slaves and their immediate descendants after the great migration to the north.

The story is set in Pittsburgh of 1904--just 39 years after emancipation--in the home of Aunt Ester (masterfully portrayed by Tony Award winner Phylicia Rashad). Aunt Ester is a 285 year old woman, who has seen and lived the entire slave experience in America, and is capable of taking people back through the middle passage and escapes along the underground railroad through her storytelling and connection to the spirits. (August Wilson fans were first introduced to her character in Two Trains Running, and informed of her passing in King Hedley II.)

Her home is a boarding house of sorts, and frequent gathering place for those who’ve found themselves north with no definite place to go. Among them, Black Mary (LisaGay Hamilton), a single woman who showed up one day looking for work and was invited to stay, and Eli (Eugene Lee), another ex-slave who tends to whatever needs fixing and looks after Aunt Ester.

Wilson supplies a colorful cast of characters who drop in. Solly Two Kings, (delightfully acted by the gifted Anthony Chisholm, who earlier gave Obie and Drama Desk Award-winning performances in another Wilson play, Jitney) is a former conducter on the underground railroad. He’s brought many slaves as far north as Canada, and would have taken more if Lincoln hadn’t, in his opinion, ruined things by his proclamation. He has begun to question the quality of life up in Pittsburgh, now that everyone is beholden to the mill as the sole source of employment and income. He sees little difference.

Rutherford Selig (Raynor Scheine)--another character first introduced in Joe Turner’s Come and Gone--is a junk dealer and traveling haberdasher. The play’s lone white character, he typifies the fact that times are hard for everyone. Were it not for his skin color, he’d have no special advantage in this world.

All of them are at odds with Caesar (Ruben Santiago-Hudson) who has risen to a position of relative importance in the community. Despite his own suspect past, he is now the law enforcement officer in charge of the Black community. His badge and gun afford him power and privilege enough to own his own boarding house, where his rental policies are as draconian as the mills’ hiring practices. He’s got his, and to his mind, Black folks should just make do with what they’ve got here. He is also Black Mary’s brother.

The story turns upon the arrival of Citizen Barlow (John Earl Jelks), a young man newly arrived from Alabama, carrying a deep spiritual burden. He has been told only Aunt Ester can relieve him of it, and he insists upon seeing her, even after being told to wait several days. The source of his distress is central to the plot and thus won’t be revealed here, but the manner in which he is freed speaks to this theme of freedom.

I cannot rave enough about Phylicia Rashad. I’ll make no named references to that tv show she was once on, but forget all images of her there. She completely inhabits the character of this wise, elderly woman, in body, voice and spirit. Rashad ceases to exist on the stage and only Aunt Ester remains, perhaps the highest compliment you can give an actor.

Chisholm too gives great life and energy to Solly, a grisled, feisty man who is the exact opposite of Caesar. His connection to community is unquestioned. When he receives word from his sister, still in Alabama, of the difficulties faced by the now sharecroppers and tenant farmers there, he realizes he must go back down south, despite personal risk, and bring more folks to this form of freedom.

August Wilson has an outstanding ear for dialogue and phrasing, and his ability to capture feelings and emotions through the most colorful use of the language is on full display here. Considering “Gem” in the context of his other plays, essentially the beginning of the 1900’s, makes sense out of all the others. A common thread of African Americans struggling to find their way in this new world runs through all of them.

David Gallo’s set design created an appropriately mysterious environment, Constanza Romero’s costumes evoked period and class, while Donald Holder and Dan Moses Schreier on lighting and sound design respectively, enhanced the mood and overall tone.

Perhaps director Kenny Leon (who directed Rashad in last season’s A Raisin in the Sun) had the easiest task. He had August Wilson’s powerful, moving and thought-provoking play, and seven enormously talented and award-worthy performers to work with. All he had to do was get out of their way.

Posted by bernie at January 1, 2005 02:36 PM | TrackBack