Reviews


MD THEATRE GUIDE

Theatre Review: โ€˜Gem of the Oceanโ€™ at Arena Players

By Max Garner

Published April 10, 2024

When the Baltimore August Wilson Celebration was announced last week, the project was already off to a head-start. Arena Players had already planned โ€œGem of the Oceanโ€ for their 70th season. The production opened last weekend, and with it, the playwrightโ€™s Century Cycle revival in Baltimore is officially underway. Gem is a fitting start… the finest, most polished production weโ€™ve seen at Arena Players in a long time.”


FUTURE PRESENTATION

Review: Arena Playersโ€™ โ€Gem of the Oceanโ€ Kicks off Baltimoreโ€™s August Wilson Celebration

By Patrick Regal

Published April 19, 2024

A spiritual experience acted out by a hard-working ensemble, Gem of the Ocean is an essential piece of American theatre. At Arena Players, it’s mandatory viewing and an excellent kick-off to Baltimore’s August Wilson Celebration.


DAN RODRICKS

Thank you, Arena Players, for an excellent โ€˜Gem of the Ocean,โ€™ start of the August Wilson series

By Dan Rodricks

Published April 22, 2024

The Arena production achieves all that Wilson might have wanted with this play โ€” a powerful, at times humorous portrayal of Black life in Pittsburghโ€™s Hill District four decades after the Civil War…The Arena Playersโ€™ production honors this great playwrightThe [Baltimore August Wilson Celebration] is a gift to all of us who love theater, and the premier production is superb.”


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