GEM OF THE OCEAN at Soul Rep Theatre Company

“A luminous, soul-stirring journey into ancestry, memory, and redemption.”

Soul Rep Theatre Company is honored to present August Wilson’s Gem of the Ocean, the second production in The Parrish Charitable Foundation August Wilson Play Series, proudly sponsored by the Parrish Foundation. This poetic and profound drama serves as the spiritual foundation of Wilson’s American Century Cycle. Set in 1904, the play explores the enduring power of ancestry and the search for belonging at the dawn of the 20th century.

At the heart of the story is Aunt Ester, a 285-year-old spiritual guide who carries the collective memory of the African American experience. When Citizen Barlow arrives at her Pittsburgh home seeking absolution for a grave mistake, he is invited on a transformative journey aboard the mythical ship Gem of the Ocean—a voyage that reckons with history, responsibility, and the possibility of healing.

Blending mysticism with historical realism, Gem of the Ocean examines freedom not as a destination, but as a process—one that demands remembrance, accountability, and courage. With moments of lyric beauty, quiet humor, and piercing truth, the play connects the spiritual past to the lived present, reminding us that the road forward is paved by those who came before.