August Wilson's GEM OF THE OCEAN Begins Performances at At Portland Center Stage This March

Portland Center Stage brings the work of one of the most pivotal voices in theater, and a two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, to the stage with August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean. Previews begin on March 5, opening night is March 11, and performances run through April 3, 2022, on The Armory's U.S. Bank Main Stage. Tickets are on sale now.

Associate Artistic Director Chip Miller takes the helm once again, directing an all-local cast that includes Bobby Bermea, WRICK Jones, Isaac Lamb, Treasure Lunan, Victor Mack, Henry Noble, Andrea Vernae, Victoria Alvarez-Chacon, and Justin Wilson.

"The opportunity to interpret the work of August Wilson feels like a major rite of passage," said Miller. "The first time I ever saw a stage full of black people was in a production of Two Trains Running when I was in middle school. The chance to investigate Wilson's work with this smart and fierce group of collaborators is like hitting the jackpot," they continued. "I am very excited to get into the room and explore the world of Aunt Ester, to more deeply understand the spirituality in this play, and to wrestle with the ideas of what it means to actually face yourself."

August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean is the first play, chronologically, of Wilson's Pittsburgh Cycle, a collection of 10 plays that explores the heritage and experience of African Americans, during each decade of the 20th century. Also known as the Century Cycle, Wilson penned the collection, a feat unrivaled in the theatrical canon, over the course of approximately 26 years. The cycle is primarily set in Pittsburgh's Hill District - the historically Black neighborhood where Wilson was born and raised.

August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean takes audiences to Aunt Ester Tyler's home on 1839 Wylie Avenue, a sanctuary for lost souls where she is the purveyor, sharing the knowledge that truth and love are keys to making a person right with themselves. In the play, Wilson showcases the correlation between the past and the present and how they must coexist before one can "stand in the light," as Aunt Ester says. Set in 1904, the play represents the first decade and beginning of the Pittsburgh Cycle, but it was written second-to-last in the collection. It premiered in 2003 at The Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean is an iconic story of freedom, justice, and salvation from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Fences. Pittsburgh, 1904: Amidst boiling racial tensions, Citizen Barlow arrives at the home of Aunt Ester, a 285-year-old healer, who helps him seek redemption from a mistake that's cost another man his life. She sends Citizen on a powerful, mystical journey to the City of Bones in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean - where he must understand the past in order to forge his own future. "Wilson's juiciest material. The play holds the stage and its characters hammer home, strongly, the notion of newfound freedom" (Chicago Tribune).

August Wison's Pittsburgh Cycle includes Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II, and Radio Golf. These works have garnered many awards, including Pulitzer Prizes for Fences (1987) and The Piano Lesson (1990); a Tony Award for Fences and a Tony nomination for Gem of the Ocean; Great Britain's Olivier Award for Jitney; as well as eight New York Drama Critics Circle Awards. The cast recording of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom received a 1985 Grammy Award, and Wilson received a 1995 Emmy Award nomination for his screenplay adaptation of The Piano Lesson. Wilson's early works include The Janitor, Recycle, The Coldest Day of the Year, Malcolm X, The Homecoming, and the musical satire Black Bart and the Sacred Hills. Wilson received many fellowships and awards, including Rockefeller and Guggenheim Fellowships in Playwriting, the Whiting Writers Award, a 2003 Heinz Award, a 1999 National Humanities Medal awarded by the president of the United States, and he received numerous honorary degrees from colleges and universities, as well as the only high school diploma ever issued by the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. He was an alumnus of New Dramatists, a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a 1995 inductee into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and, on October 16, 2005, Broadway renamed the theater located at 245 West 52nd Street as The August Wilson Theatre.

Prices range from $25 to $87 and tickets may be purchased at pcs.org/august-wilsons-gem-of-the-ocean, 503.445.3700, or in-person from the box office. Prices vary by date and time and are subject to change.

Visit pcs.og/deals to view ticket specials, including Rush Tickets, Pay What You Will, Arts for All, Active Duty, Military Veteran, Student, Under 30, The Armory Card, Groups of 10+, and more.

Please Note: August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean is recommended for ages 14 and up. It contains adult language and themes, smoking, theatrical haze, and strobe-like lighting effects. Learn more by calling 503-445-3700.

Accessibility: Learn about accessibility options at pcs.org/access.

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