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Stage Review of Gem of the Ocean  

 
Round House Theatre; Bethesda, Maryland 

November 28-December 30, 2018  
Directed by Timothy Douglas 

 
By Leticia Ridley 

Ph.D. Candidate, University of Maryland, College Park 

              

The wooden planks that covered the stage, including the 
high ceilings and the back wall adorned with candles, 
captured the magnitude of its presence within the 
community and the mysticism that sits inside of it. 

− Leticia Ridley 

Abstract  
A review of August Wilson's Gem of the Ocean, staged at the Round House Theatre in Bethesda, 
Maryland, from November 28-December 30, 2018. 
 

Keywords 
August Wilson, Gem of the Ocean, Timothy Douglas, Goodman Theatre, Round House Theatre 

Round House Theatre’s production of Gem of the Ocean exemplified the brilliance, 
artistry, and significance of August Wilson’s work in the American theater.  Produced fif-
teen years after its original production at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre, 
Gem resonated with American audiences, not only by artfully grappling 
with the effects of American Slavery and the unfulfilled promises of 
emancipation, but also by reminding us of the persistent ways that the 
law continues to overpolice and regulate Black life.  Wilson’s characters 
dramatize how African American history can simultaneously empower 
and confine the Black community, a sentiment best described by Solly 
Two Kings’s question: “What is freedom if you can’t do nothing with 
it?” Staged on a traditional proscenium, the production reinforced the 
audience’s role as voyeurs of the lives of these characters—
complemented aptly by the historically credible costuming—that situ-
ated us to the post-emancipation era.    

Under the direction of Timothy Douglas, a frequent director of Wilson’s work (he 
has directed nine of Wilson’s American Century Cycle plays at major US regional theatres), 
Round House’s production captured the specificity and musicality in Wilson’s rich dia-
logue.  The lush language of Wilson became specifically activated during the scene where 
Citizen attempted to voice his attraction to Black Mary.   As Citizen Barlow and Black 

Leticia Ridley 



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Mary, Justin Weaks and Stori Ayers captured the texture of their characters.  This could 
primarily be seen through Citizen’s muttered and breathy speech or in Black Mary’s swift 
and stoic responses to Citizen’s words of affection.   

The wooden planks that covered the stage, including the high ceilings and the 
back wall adorned with candles, captured the magnitude of its presence within the com-
munity and the mysticism that sits inside of it.  Douglas also masterfully grasped the 
camaraderie among these characters and the refuge that they take with one another, cap-
turing an important implicit claim of Gem: that sanctuary is not merely a physical, but is 
also a community of people.  This is best reflected in the action taken collectively by the 
residents and visitors of the house to help Solly escape from Caesar.  While the production 
represented the largeness of 1839 Wylie Avenue through its design choices, the direction 
solidified the notion that Aunt Ester’s home is not entirely immune from the intrusion of 
outside forces.  Instead, it is the relationships built inside of the house that protect its resi-
dents.  Solly, played charismatically by Alfred Wilson, showed this most explicitly.  Alfred 
Wilson infused Solly with humor and conviction.  Recounting his and Eli’s past helping 
runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad, Wilson hit the gravity of this horrific history 
of American enslavement while also maintaining the play’s comedic moments.   

The antithesis to Solly is Caesar Wilks, the proclaimed “boss man” of the Hill Dis-
trict.  KenYatta Rogers’ embodiment of Caesar reflected the intensity of the character.  
Each movement and action made by Rogers offered access to the interiority of Caesar.  The 
rigid and upright posture of Rogers throughout the performance magnified the authority 
that Caesar feels he must enforce in order to lift himself above others.  Rogers imbued Cae-
sar with complexity, a difficult feat for the antagonist of the play.  Douglas’s direction, 
alongside the other production elements such as Kasey Hendricks’ props, reinforced the 
idea that the interconnectedness of the lives of these characters cannot be separated from 
one another.  For example, Solly’s walking stick is introduced as an aid to help Solly get 
around and an instrument to avoid captivity by Caesar.  But it serves its most significant 
function as Citizen assumes the walking stick after Solly’s death, signaling his deliberate 
choice to carry Solly’s legacy.  Each prop designed by Hendricks was impressively incorpo-
rated into the production.   
 Throughout the play, Wilson conjures ancestral links through the figure of Aunt 
Ester (whose name, as critics often point out, conjures the sound of “ancestor”).  The suc-
cess of any production of Gem relies on the dynamic portrayal of Aunt Ester, a demand that 
actress Stephanie Berry fulfilled, if not exceeded.  Berry’s depiction embraced the assured 
ancestral knowledge with which Wilson infuses Aunt Ester, a wisdom she has gained from 
her experience of enslavement and African cosmology.   Acting as an ancestral conduit and 
spiritual guide, it is only through Aunt Ester that Citizen Barlow can visit the City of Bones.  
Culminating the show’s dramatic apex, Citizen’s metaphysical journey to the City of Bones 
was the stand out moment of the production.  Under the thoughtful direction and chore-
ography of Douglas, the quaint kitchen/dining area (designed by Tony Cisek), became 
engulfed in ethereal, blue light (designed by Andrew R.  Cissna), while Black Mary, Eli, and 
Solly sung (accompanied by original music of Justin Ellington) and served as witnesses and 
support for Citizen’s journey.  Weaks captured the pain in confronting and experiencing 
the harsh conditions of the Middle Passage.  After Citizen confesses that he stole the nails, 
the stage illuminated with candles that had been out of site for the majority of the perfor-
mance as he experienced the reverence and beauty of the City of Bones.  Engulfed with this 
new knowledge, Citizen’s soul has been cleansed and he returned to the celebratory song 
of his fellow witnesses.   

The Round House production of Gem of the Ocean revived the potent legacy of en-
slavement that continues to structure the life of Wilson’s characters, a thread continued 
throughout his American Century Cycle.  Moreover, Wilson’s play has further resonance 
for our current political climate, one that has witnessed an ever-proliferating increase of 



R I D L E Y :  S T A G E  R E V I E W  O F  G E M  O F  T H E  O C E A N   
 

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violent, racialized attacks on Black people and other marginalized communities in the 
United States.  Accordingly, Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean offers us a timely instruction to 
take up the respective calls of our ancestors and continue to fight for Black liberation, free-
dom, and life. 

Works Cited 

Wilson, August.   Gem of the Ocean.   Theatre Communications Group.   2007. 

Author Bio 

Ms. Leticia Ridley is a Ph.D. student in Theatre and Performance Studies of University of 
Maryland, College Park.  She is a playwright, dramaturg, and scholar with interests include 
Black theatre and Performance, American Popular Culture, and Black Feminism with an 
emphasis on the intersections of race, gender, class, and sexuality.   

 
 
 
 
 
 

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	Stage Review of Gem of the Ocean
	Abstract
	Keywords

	Works Cited
	Author Bio

