The Piano Lesson is set in Pittsburgh's Hill District in 1936. A brother and sister are locked in a war over the fate of a family heirloom: a piano carved with the faces of their ancestors. Only by revisiting history can the siblings endeavor to move forward. Directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson, The Piano Lesson is a part of August Wilson's American Century Cycle, which chronicles the Black experience throughout the 20th Century over the course of ten plays.
How to both honor history and move beyond it is the overriding theme of 'The Piano Lesson,' one of August Wilson's finest plays. The new Broadway revival, featuring Samuel L. Jackson and directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson (a noted actor who is married to Mr. Jackson), certainly does an honorable job of breathing new life into the work, which won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1990. Wilson's plays are so dense with vividly felt experience-not to mention language that is simultaneously earthy and lyrical-that they always captivate.
It may be true that those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it, but what about those who know it and choose to ignore it? What fate befalls them? That question looms large in August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, 'The Piano Lesson' - the fourth play in his 'Pittsburgh Cycle' -- which is now receiving a high-octane Broadway revival at the Barrymore Theatre.
1990 | Broadway |
Broadway |
2012 | Off-Broadway |
Signature Theatre Company Off-Broadway |
2022 | Broadway |
Broadway Revival Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play | Danielle Brooks |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play | Ray Fisher |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Lighting Design of a Play | Japhy Weideman |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | The Piano Lesson |
2023 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Wig and Hair | Cookie Jordan |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Danielle Brooks |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | John David Washington |
2023 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | The Piano Lesson |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play | Danielle Brooks |
2023 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Featured Performer in a Broadway Play | Michael Potts |
2023 | Theatre World Awards | Theatre World Awards | John David Washington |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play | Samuel L. Jackson |
2023 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | The Piano Lesson |
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