Gem of the Ocean

In celebration of his 60^th birthday, Rev. Thomas Bowen presents a reading of Gem of the Ocean, supporting Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

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August 16th, 2025 1pm

Written By: August Wilson

Directed By: Nicole Brewer

Starring: Thomas Bowen. Additional talent to be announced.

VIP Reception with Rev. Thomas Bowen and Woolly Mammoth Leadership at 12:00pm

Doors Open at 12:30pm

Reading Begins at 1:00pm in Woolly Mammoth’s Lower Lobby, with a catered reception to follow in the Upper Lobby

About Gem of the Ocean

Centered on its strong and allegorical protagonist, Aunt Ester, Gem of the Ocean explores the symbolic and spiritual connection between a turn-of-the-century Black community and its alive and stirring memory of an enslaved past. Set four decades after the Civil War, Wilson uses powerful metaphor to confront essential questions: what is freedom and what is its price? Ethereal and dark, Gem of the Ocean reminds audiences what Wilson so bluntly stated to the New York Times in 1987: “Black America wants to forget slavery—the stigma, the shame. That’s the wrong move. If you can’t be who you are, who can you be?”