Photo Flash: Sneak Peek at Lilias White in Rubicon Theatre's GEM OF THE OCEAN, Ventura, CA

Rubicon Theatre continues its 14th season May 24 with August Wilson's powerful and poignant drama GEM OF THE OCEAN. Ahead of the first preview tomorrow, May 16, check out these production shots of Lillias White and the rest of the cast in action.

Rubicon's first play by August Wilson is also the first chronologically in the author's 10-play series dramatizing the African-American experience in the Twentieth Century. GEM OF THE OCEAN is a mystical play set in 1904 in Pittsburgh's Hill District. At a local mill, a man is accused of stealing a bucket of nails. But rather than confess to a crime he didn't commit, he jumps in the river and becomes a martyr to his co-workers. Riots break out and the workers begin to strike. Against this turbulent backdrop, another young man named Citizen Barlow arrives at the home of Aunt Ester, a 285-year-old healer who is the keeper of tradition and history for her people. She sends Citizen on a spiritual journey aboard the slave ship Gem of the Ocean-where he must confront his ancestors and then face the truth about himself.

Beginning on May 23rd, the regular performance schedule is as follows: Wednesdays at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., Thursdays at 8:00 p.m., Fridays at 8:00 p.m., Saturdays at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Talkbacks with the actors and director will be held after the 7:00 p.m. Wednesday performances on May 23, May 30 and June 6. Tickets for daytime student matinees are only $10 and may be reserved through Rubicon's education office at (805) 667-2912, ext. 230. Regular tickets range in price from $25 to $54 and may be purchased in person through the Rubicon Theatre Company BOX OFFICE, located at 1006 E. Main Street (Laurel entrance), or online at www.rubicontheatre.org. Twenty-four-hour-a-day ticketing is available online, thanks to a grant from the IRVINE FOUNDATION's Regional Arts Initiative. To charge by phone, call (805) 667-2900.

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