Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Following the great success of last season’s production The Piano Lesson, the Hangar Theatre will present another play from Pulitzer-Prize winner August Wilson’s Twentieth Century Cycle, Gem of the Ocean.   The New York Times said "'Gem' has passages of transporting beauty. Mr. Wilson is at the top of his form."   Performances at the Hangar begin July 28th, running through August 6th .

One of Wilson’s last works, Gem of the Ocean is set in Pittsburgh in 1904.  Citizen Barlow is in desperate need of spiritual guidance when another man is wrongfully accused of his crimes so Barlow turns to 285-year-old Aunt Ester Tyler and her suitor Solly Two Kings, a conductor on the Underground Railroad.    Set in the same Pittsburgh neighborhood as The Piano Lesson (The Hill district), Hangar audiences will marvel at August Wilson's unmatched story-telling prowess in this gem of a play.

Jennifer L. Nelson, who helmed last year’s The Piano Lesson, returns to the Hangar for Gem of the Ocean.  “I am delighted to be back.  I love this play.” states Nelson.  The play examines the “ongoing legacy of slavery” and “how African Americans saw “all vestiges of previous culture stripped away, leaving people spiritually unmoored.”  With Aunt Ester acting as a portal to the past, the play beautifully examines Citizen Barlow’s struggle.  “(He) can’t go forward with who he is in the present without discovering his roots to his past.”

Artistic Director Peter Flynn stated, “We are thrilled to welcome Jennifer L. Nelson back to the Hangar for Gem of the Ocean.  The Hangar takes great pride in presenting the plays of August Wilson, an extraordinary American playwright with a truly distinctive and singular voice.  We hope the Finger Lakes region will seize the opportunity to hear this beautiful play, rich with poetry, music, and humor.”

The Hangar production of Gem of the Ocean features Lizan Mitchell (Broadway’s Electra, Having Our Say) as Aunt Ester, a role she has played to great acclaim across the country.   The Hangar is pleased to welcome back Craig Wallace and David Emerson Toney, both from 2010’s The Piano Lesson .  Also featured in the cast are Erika Rose, G. Alverez Reid, Dane Cruz, and Louis B. Murray.

---

v7i29