Gem of the Ocean (August Wilson Century Cycle) (Hardcover)

by August Wilson (Author), Phylicia Rashad (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"No one except perhaps Eugene O'Neill and Tennessee Williams has aimed so high and achieved so much in the American theater."-John Lahr, The New Yorker

"A swelling battle hymn of transporting beauty. Theatergoers who have followed August Wilson's career will find in Gem a touchstone for everything else he has written."-Ben Brantley, The New York Times

"Wilson's juiciest material. The play holds the stage and its characters hammer home, strongly, the notion of newfound freedom."-Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune

Gem of the Ocean is the play that begins it all. Set in 1904 Pittsburgh, it is chronologically the first work in August Wilson's decade-by-decade cycle dramatizing the African American experience during the 20th century-an unprecedented series that includes the Pulitzer Prizewinning plays Fences and The Piano Lesson. Aunt Esther, the drama's 287-year-old fiery matriarch, welcomes into her Hill District home Solly Two Kings, who was born into slavery and scouted for the Union Army, and Citizen Barlow, a young man from Alabama searching for a new life. Gem of the Ocean recently played across the country and on Broadway, with Phylicia Rashad as Aunt Esther.

Earlier in 2005, on the completion of the final work of his ten play cycle-surely the most ambitious American dramatic project undertaken in our history-August Wilson disclosed his bout with cancer, an illness of unusual ferocity that would eventually claim his life on October 2. Fittingly the Broadway theatre where his last play will be produced in 2006 has been renamed the August Wilson Theater in his honor. His legacy will animate the theatre and stir the human heart for decades to come.

About the Author
August Wilson is the most influential and successful African American playwright writing today. He is the two-time Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Fences, The Piano Lesson, King Hedley II, Ma Rainy's Black Bottom, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Seven Guitars, Two Trains Running, Jitney and Radio Golf. His plays have been produced all over the world.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 120 pages
• Publisher: Theatre Communications Group (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1559362812
• ISBN-13: 978-1559362818
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #662,395 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the very best plays I have seen performed!, June 2, 2006

By	Scurjovgawd (Salisbury, Ct USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gem of the Ocean (Paperback)

I remember thinking that I was inspired and wanted to write a blues song listening to the characters speak so colorfully in August Wilson's play, Gem of the Ocean. Phylicia Rashad and the entire cast were mesmerizing in the Broadway version I was lucky enough to see. I believe GotO is even more cinematic than The Piano Lesson, a Wilson play made into a movie that worked well on the screen, in my opinion. The story line of GotO spans a few days and engages and explores a spectrum of social and moral issues, without answering them and leaving the audience to ponder those gray areas. Highly recommended.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Gem of the Ocean, January 4, 2007

By	J. Passon - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Gem of the Ocean (Paperback)

GoO is August Wilson's first play in his ten-play epic cycle of African-American history. It is not so much literal history as metaphoric: the essential qualities of strength, endurance, and community are what hold the characters together. For someone not familiar with Wilson's work, the play may be curious, but for anyone knowledge about Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Two Trains Running, or King Hedley II, Gem of the Ocean is an important work.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A richly textured exploration of the challenges faced in adapting to a new environment, January 4, 2008

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Gem of the Ocean (Paperback)

Broadway theater playwright August Wilson presents Gem of the Ocean, the first play in a ten-play cycle about the African-American experience during the modern twentieth century. Set in 1904 Pittsburgh, Gem of the Ocean follows a long-lived, fierce-willed matriarch and the two men she welcomed into her Hill District home: Solly Two Kings, who was born into slavery and served the Union Army in the Civil War, and Citizen Barlow, a man from Alabama seeking a better life. A richly textured exploration of the challenges faced in adapting to a new environment, no matter how many hardships one faced in the past, Gem of the Ocean is highly recommended.