August Wilson's 'Gem of the Ocean' Opens at Fountain Theater

'Gem of the Ocean' opens on October 11, with performances Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through November 16. Previews are scheduled October 3 through 10. Tickets are $25.00 on Thursdays and Fridays and $28.00 on Saturdays and Sundays, except opening night (October 11), which is $30.00 and previews which are $15.00. On Thursdays and Fridays only, students with ID are $18.00 and seniors $23.00. The Fountain Theatre is located at 5060 Fountain Avenue (at Normandie) in Los Angeles. For reservations and information, call (323) 663-1525 or go to www.FountainTheatre.com.

'Gem of the Ocean' is the play that begins it all - the first chronological installment in August Wilson's unprecedented decade-by-decade cycle that dramatizes the African American experience in the 20th century. Ovation and NAACP Award-winner Ben Bradley (Joe Turner's 'Come and Gone') directs Wilson's haunting tale about freedom and the power of redemption. Performances take place October 11 through November 16 at The Fountain Theatre, with low-priced previews beginning October 3.

Slavery is still a living memory in 'Gem of the Ocean,' which is set in 1904 in Pittsburgh's Hill district. Newly arrived from Alabama, Citizen Barlow appears at the home of legendary healer and 'soul-cleanser" Aunt Ester on the eve of her 287th birthday. He is seeking solace and guidance, and Ester sends him on a magical journey across history and time that leads to startling discoveries.

"The people who pass through Aunt Ester's house are an unforgettable collection of emotionally rich, compelling and endearing characters," says producer and Fountain co-artistic director Stephen Sachs. "Her home teems with activity, a sanctuary where troubled people come to be cleansed of guilt and sorrow."

"This is a play that I've always had a tremendous amount of passion for," comments Bradley. "Unlike in his other plays, Wilson creates a world filled with mysticism and magical realism. Our production embraces these elements. I want this to be a visceral experience."

The Fountain Theatre production features Keith Arthur Bolden ('Atlanta' at the Geffen, 'The Last Seder' at Ensemble Studio Theatre-LA) as Citizen Barlow and Juanita Jennings (The Fountain's 'From the Mississippi Delta,' NAACP Awards for 'Jar the Floor' and 'King Hedley II') as Aunt Ester. Also in the cast are Tene Carter Miller (The Fountain's 'Joe Turner's Come and Gone') as Black Mary; Rodney Gardiner (in New York City, he devised and performed in Waterwell's 'The King Operetta'; 'Stuck'; 'Chill & Serve'; 'Sweetness & Light'; and 'The Persians') as Caesar; Stephen Marshall (Fountain Theatre productions of 'Four by Tenn,' 'Central Avenue' and 'The Accomplices') as Rutherford Selig; Jeris Lee Poindexter (Fountain's 'Central Avenue,' the films 'The Color Purple' and 'Akeelah and the Bee,' LA Weekly and two-time NAACP Award-winner) as Eli; and Adolphus Ward (six previous August Wilson plays including The Fountain Theatre's 'Joe Turner's Come and Gone') as Solly Two Kings.

Largely self-educated, American playwright and poet August Wilson's plays center on the struggles and identity of African Americans and the deleterious effect of white American institutions on black American life. His works draw heavily on his own experience growing up in the Hill district of Pittsburgh, a black ghetto where nearly all of his plays are set. His characters are ordinary people whose histories, frustrations, and aspirations Wilson astutely portrays. His cycle of ten dramas, written over a period of more than 20 years, includes various overlapping characters and themes. In addition to the Tony-nominated 'Gem of the Ocean,' the cycle includes 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom,' 'Jitney,' 'Fences,' 'Joe Turner's Come and Gone,' 'The Piano Lesson,' 'Two Trains Running,' 'Seven Guitars,' 'King Hedley II' and 'Radio Golf.'  Acclaimed as landmarks in the history of black American culture, these works focus on the major issues confronting African Americans during each of the decades of the 20th century. "This cycle is unprecedented in American theater for its concept, size, and cohesion," noted theater critic Christopher Rawson. "No one except perhaps Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams has aimed so high and achieved so much in the American theater," wrote John Lahr in The New Yorker. Wilson is the recipient of two Pulitzer Prizes: for 'Fences' in 1987, which also garnered the Tony Award, and for 'The Piano Lesson' in 1990. In 2003, Wilson starred in a production of his autobiographical one-man play 'How I Learned What I Learned.'  He succumbed to cancer in 2005.

Ben Bradley has been with the Fountain Theatre for fifteen years as a producer/director, and he received the 2006 Ovation Award and the 2007 NAACP Award for his direction of the critically acclaimed, 20th anniversary production of August Wilson's 'Joe Turner's Come and Gone.'  Other directorial credits include 'Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill' (winner of the NAACP Award for Best Actress) and 'Direct from Death Row: The Scottsboro Boys' (winner of Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and LA Weekly awards for Best Ensemble). Ben produced the Fountain's acclaimed productions of 'Yellowman,' 'Master Class' and 'Central Avenue,' and he co-produced 'The Darker Face of the Earth,' 'I Am A Man' and 'Four by Tenn.'

Housed in a charming two-story complex in Hollywood, California, The Fountain Theatre is one of the most successful intimate theaters in Los Angeles, providing a nurturing, creative home for multi-ethnic theater and dance artists. Fountain Theatre productions have won more than 160 awards for all areas of production, performance and design, and The Fountain Theatre is the only intimate theater to win the Ovation Award for Best Production of a Play four times. Fountain projects have been seen in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Florida, New Jersey, Minneapolis and Edinburgh. Recent highlights include the U.S. Premiere of Athol Fugard's 'Victory,' the Fountain's Off-Broadway production of Fugard's 'Exits and Entrances' in New York, worldwide readings/productions/tours of 'What I Heard About Iraq,' the Ovation Award-winning 'Joe Turner's Come and Gone,' the three-city tour of 'Sonidos Gitanos,' and the making of 'Sweet Nothing in my Ear' into a television movie that aired on CBS-TV's 'Hallmark Hall of Fame.'

Set Design for 'Gem of the Ocean' is by Travis Gale Lewis; Lighting Design is by Christian Epps; Projections are by Marc Rosenthal; Sound Design by David B. Marling; Costume Design is by Naila Aladdin Sanders; Production Stage Manager is Jeremy A. Levin; Stephen Sachs produces.

'Gem of the Ocean' opens for press on October 11, with performances Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 pm and Sundays at 2 pm through November 16. Previews are scheduled October 3 through 10. Tickets are $25.00 on Thursdays and Fridays and $28.00 on Saturdays and Sundays, except opening night (October 11), which is $30.00 and previews which are $15.00. On Thursdays and Fridays only, students with ID are $18.00 and seniors $23.00. The Fountain Theatre is located at 5060 Fountain Avenue (at Normandie) in Los Angeles. Secure, on-site parking is available for $5.00. The Fountain Theatre is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible. For reservations and information, call (323) 663-1525 or go to www.FountainTheatre.com.

 

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