Gem of the Ocean

Description

Opening night on Feb. 7 starting at 7:30 p.m. Continuing on Feb., 8,13, 14, & 15 at 7:30 p.m., and Feb. 9 & 16 at 2:00 p.m. The year is 1904. The house at 1839 Wylie Ave. in the Hill District of Pittsburgh has a new boarder, young Citizen Barlow, who is struggling to find his way in the brave new world up North. The guide on his journey is the mysterious Aunt Ester, the 285-year-old shaman who takes Citizen on a harrowing, "soul-washing" trip to the "City of Bones" where Barlow learns that to break the chains of bondage he must first remember his past and navigate through a difficult present toward the future of freedom. This is the ninth of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson's "Pittsburgh Cycle" chronicling the African American experience in the 20th century.