August Wilson's Gem Of The Ocean!

Finally, a brilliant play comes to the great white way.
I went to see Gem Of The Ocean and it was a very well done show.
Phylicia Rashad was breathtaking as Aunt Ester as was Lisagay Hamilton as Black Mary.
If you want to see a riveting play go see this Gem.
I was deeply moved.
Oh and John Earl Jelks is a vision to look at. Stunning.

Updated On: 12/9/04 at 12:02 AM

I have seen all of his plays and this one is my favorite.
It is brilliant. If you can make it please go.
Intelligent plays need a place on Broadway.

Updated On: 12/9/04 at 12:30 PM

I'm hoping that this is still on Broadway this coming spring. That's probably the earliest I'll be able to get back to New York. Of all August Wilson's plays about African-American life in the 20th century, this is the one that intrigued me most, primarily because I'm a turn-of-the-century buff...

Unfortunately, I have bad memories of Jitney based on the way this jerk of a professor approached it in a class I had my second year of college.

I actually like most of Jitney, although the resolution is a little too neat. But it'll be a while before I can experience the play again without thinking of my painful, painful experience with the professor who assigned it. :-P

Is there any incorporation of ragtime music into the production currently at the Walter Kerr?

You're right that Jitney is probably the closest thing Wilson has written to what would be termed a "well-made" play, but what was most memorable about that New York production was that more than anything the play is a great vehicle for a gifted ensemble of actors (the cast received an Obie for best ensemble).

I don't recall much use of ragtime in this production of Gem, but nonetheless the show ably captures the "feel" of turn of the century America, much like the brilliant production of "Joe Turner's Come and Gone" (set in 1912 and IMO Wilson's greatest play) that played on Broadway more than a decade ago.

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