Gem of the Ocean at The Human Race Theatre Company

Each of the ten plays in the late August Wilson's famed "Pittsburgh Cycle" covers a different decade of the 1900s in an urban African-American neighborhood, and Gem, while the next-to-last written, is the first chronologically. It's set in 1904, an age when slavery no longer exists but oppression remains all too real, and where the problems of the residents seem overwhelming. At the core of the story is Aunt Ester, whose 285 years of life include a journey to America on a slave ship, and who uses her experiences to bring moral guidance to new generations. (Photo courtesy of Willis Bing Davis.)

Authors

• August Wilson