Photo of Jerod Haynes, Tyla Abercrumbie, A.C. Smith, and Jacqueline Williams by Michael Brosilow.
Get to know the characters of Gem of the Ocean and read a detailed synopsis of the play.
Characters
Black Mary: Aunt Ester’s protégé and housekeeper (played by Tyla Abercrumbie)
Caesar Wilks: Black Mary’s brother and the local policeman (played by David Alan Anderson)
Aunt Ester: A formerly enslaved woman who claims to be 284 years old; she is a “soul cleanser” and the head of the household at 1839 Wylie Avenue (played by Jacqueline Williams)
Citizen Barlow: A young man from Alabama in spiritual turmoil (played by Jerod Haynes)
Eli: A longtime friend of Solly; lives in the house and serves as Aunt Ester’s gatekeeper (played by A.C. Smith)
Solly Two Kings: A former conductor on the Underground Railroad and Aunt Ester’s suitor (played by Alfred H. Wilson)
Rutherford Selig: A traveling peddler who frequents 1839 Wylie Avenue (played by Steve Schine)
A migrant from Alabama named Citizen Barlow stands resolutely outside of the house at 1839 Wylie Avenue. He hopes to meet with the powerful Aunt Ester to seek absolution for his wrongs. Eli, Ester’s gatekeeper, and Black Mary, her protégé, discuss the recent rash of evictions from Caesar, Black Mary’s brother. Selig, a traveling peddler, shares that a Black man named Garret Brown was wrongfully accused of stealing a box of nails at the local mill, and he chose to drown in the river rather than get arrested. Later, Citizen comes into the house via a window, and Aunt Ester shows him kindness and offers him a place to stay. Citizen admits that he is the one who stole the bucket of nails. He feels responsible for Garret Brown’s death and wants Aunt Ester to wash his soul.
Black workers at the mill are rioting in the wake of the man’s drowning. Solly decides he must walk to Alabama to rescue his sister, who is suffering under increasing restrictions and cruelty by whites. Caesar complains about the rioters and intimidates Citizen. He then argues with his sister, Black Mary, about what he says is her lack of loyalty to him.
Selig reveals that someone set the mill on fire. Aunt Ester prepares Citizen to go on an adventure to the City of Bones, a symbolic, spiritual city of those who lost their lives in the Middle Passage. Solly and Eli relate their experiences running people through the Underground Railroad and the broken promises of freedom in the face of sorrow, grief, and the law.
Aunt Ester gives Citizen a paper boat and tells him it is called the Gem of the Ocean. This boat will take him to the City of Bones, and Solly, Eli, Black Mary, and Aunt Ester begin to take Citizen on the journey. They sing songs, play characters, and guide him to see, hear, and feel this journey on the boat. Citizen sees people chained up who all look like him, and once he arrives at the City of Bones, he discovers that the man guarding one of the gates is Garret Brown. Aunt Ester tells him he must admit his wrongs in order to have his soul washed; Citizen does, returns to the living room, and the whole group celebrates. Caesar interrupts the celebration to accuse Solly of setting the mill on fire. Solly hits him in the knee and flees.
Black Mary finally breaks under the micromanagement of Aunt Ester, saying that there is more than one right way to do a thing. Aunt Ester, pleased, says to her, “What took you so long?” Aunt Ester asks Selig to help Solly get downriver, away from Caesar. Citizen says he will go with him as well. Caesar comes looking for Solly with an arrest warrant. Aunt Ester replies that a piece of paper cannot determine someone’s freedom, but Citizen arrests her for aiding and abetting a fugitive.
As Aunt Ester returns on bond, Citizen enters the house and says that Caesar shot Solly in the chest. Caesar comes looking for Citizen and Black Mary renounces her brother. He leaves, Black Mary and Aunt Ester sing, and Citizen puts on Solly’s cloak and leaves.
Gem of the Ocean is set in 1904, in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The play takes place in the parlor of 1839 Wylie Avenue, where Eli, Aunt Ester, and Black Mary live.
Place in the August Wilson Century Cycle
Gem of the Ocean is the first play chronologically in August Wilson’s Century Cycle, taking place in the 1900s. It was written in 2003 and produced at Court Theatre in 2015.
A Note for Teachers
This play features strong language, including racial slurs, and gunshot wounds. Please prepare students accordingly.
