YOUNGSTOWN — In the preview story for Youngstown Playhouse’s production of August Wilson’s “Gem of the Ocean,” director Lundeana Thomas described Charles Nasby’s set design as “a crowd pleaser.”

Talk about an understatement.

Nasby’s transformational set is one of many impressive elements in the production at the Playhouse, which continues its run with three performances this weekend.

In recent years, the serious dramas at the Playhouse mostly have been done in the more intimate Moyer Room performance space, but “Gem” fills the main stage and makes full use of its fly system for a second act reveal I won’t spoil here. The sound design and Jim Canacci’s lighting design combine with the set to create a stunning sequence.

“Gem of the Ocean” is part of Wilson’s Century Cycle, a collection of 10 plays that each take place in a different decade of the 20th century and are set predominantly in his native Pittsburgh. “Gem” is the first play chronologically in the series, but it was the ninth one that was produced, first performed in 2003.

It takes place in the home of Aunt Ester, the spiritual leader of her Hill District community. Ester and many of the characters are old enough to have lived through the horrors of slavery and wise enough to know the promises made by the government and the Constitution weren’t kept.

They either eke out a living at jobs others would turn up their noses to (like collecting dog feces that was used in the tanning process) or living under a different kind of servitude while working in exploitative mills.

The play mixes a stark realism with some fantastical elements, requiring a deft balance that Thomas and the cast navigate admirably.

D.C. Colvin is a commanding presence as Sully Two Kings, a man with a fierce sense of duty and a sly sense of humor. Colvin is a theater veteran and always a welcome sight on local stages. Waymond Grace Sr. is making his stage debut as Eli, Ester’s caregiver and a former comrade of Sully’s during the Civil War and on the Underground Railroad. He more than holds his own in his scenes with Colvin as well as with Terry Shears, another talented local actor with an extensive resume, who plays merchant Rutherford Selig.

Dan Colvin is believably tormented as a man who comes to Ester in search of a spiritual cleansing. His comfort comes not only from Ester, but from the examples set by Sully and Eli and from the possibility of a relationship with Black Mary (Jaietta Jackson).

Jackson’s best moments come with her increasing frustration at the demands of Ester, played by Nailah Thomas. She is far younger than the elderly character she appears to be (not to mention the 285 years old that she claims to be), but she capably handles the demands of the role.

There are many villains off stage in “Gem.”

Arcale Peace plays the one the audience sees as Caesar, a police officer and apartment owner (and Black Mary’s brother) who has decided the path to survival and success is to treat his own people as miserably as their oppressors. Peace plays it with the right amount of menace and a hint that, in a different way, he’s a victim of the same system as everyone else.

The costumes by Ali Turns feel authentic for the time period. The only element in the look of the show that seems anachronistic is some of the art that decorates the home,

“Gem” runs a full two-and-a-half hours (not including intermission), and there is a lot of exposition and character establishment in that 90-minute first act that, at times, feels too leisurely paced. But patience is rewarded in the second act.

Talking to Thomas last week, it was obvious she revered Wilson and his work. While introducing the play Sunday, Thomas said she was wearing the same outfit she wore to the playwright’s funeral.

With her staging of “Gem of the Ocean,” she does her hero proud.

If you go …

WHAT: “Gem of the Ocean”

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday

WHERE: Youngstown Playhouse, 600 Playhouse Lane, Youngstown

HOW MUCH: Tickets range from $12 to $27 and are available online at experienceyourarts.org and by calling 330-788-8739.