Quick Answer
No, The Piano Lesson is not currently running on Broadway. The play had a limited Broadway run from April 16, 2022 to July 17, 2022 at the Barrymore Theatre. It was a revival of August Wilson’s 1990 Pulitzer Prize winning play starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, and Danielle Brooks. The show closed as planned after its limited engagement.
Overview of The Piano Lesson
The Piano Lesson is a play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the fourth installment of Wilson’s The Pittsburgh Cycle, a collection of 10 plays depicting the African American experience in 20th century America.
The Piano Lesson takes place in Pittsburgh’s Hill District in 1936. The play revolves around a brother and sister, Boy Willie and Berniece, who are in conflict over what to do with an heirloom piano. The piano is intricately carved with figures of their ancestors by Boy Willie’s enslaved grandfather. Boy Willie wants to sell the piano to purchase land that once belonged to their family during slavery. But Berniece refuses, insisting that selling the piano would be like selling their family’s history.
The play explores themes of family legacy, African American heritage, and the struggle between clinging to the past or moving forward. It received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Broadway Production History
1990 Original Broadway Run
The Piano Lesson first premiered on Broadway at the Walter Kerr Theatre in 1990. Directed by Lloyd Richards, the cast featured Charles S. Dutton as Boy Willie, S. Epatha Merkerson as Berniece, and Carl Lumbly as Avery.
The production was met with critical acclaim, winning the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It ran for 328 performances before closing on January 5, 1992.
2012 Broadway Revival
In April 2012, a revival of The Piano Lesson opened on Broadway at the St. James Theatre, directed by Kenny Leon. The cast included Samuel L. Jackson as Doaker Charles, John Beasley as Wining Boy, and Condola Rashad as Berniece.
This production received two Tony Award nominations, for Best Revival of a Play and Best Leading Actor in a Play for Samuel L. Jackson. It ran for 119 performances before closing on July 29, 2012.
2022 Broadway Revival
Opening date | April 16, 2022 |
Closing date | July 17, 2022 |
Cast | Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Brooks |
Theatre | Barrymore Theatre |
Number of performances | 100 |
The most recent Broadway revival of The Piano Lesson opened on April 16, 2022 at the Barrymore Theatre, featuring an all-star cast.
Samuel L. Jackson starred as Doaker Charles, reprising his role from the 2012 revival. The role of Boy Willie was played by John David Washington. Berniece was played by Danielle Brooks, best known for her role as Taystee in Orange is the New Black.
The production received glowing reviews, with critics praising the powerhouse performances of the lead actors. It was nominated for 5 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play and acting nominations for Jackson and Brooks.
As a limited run, the revival closed on July 17, 2022 after 100 performances. So while The Piano Lesson is not currently on Broadway, its impactful 2022 revival demonstrates that this American classic still resonates strongly with audiences today.
What The Piano Lesson is About
At the heart of The Piano Lesson is the question of what to do with an heirloom piano that carries intricate carvings depicting the family’s history in slavery. For Boy Willie, selling the piano means opportunity – the chance to buy back farmland that once belonged to their family. But for Berniece, keeping the piano represents honoring the sacrifice of their enslaved ancestors.
As Berniece says, “Money can’t buy what that piano cost. You can’t sell your soul for money.” This conflict between pragmatism and preserving history fuels the tension between the siblings.
The carvings themselves tell the story of the family’s origins. Boy Willie and Berniece’s great-grandfather Willie Boy carved the figures of his wife and son being traded, which to Berniece brings their family’s painful past to life. Selling the piano would mean letting go of that reminder.
August Wilson based the carved piano on similar historical artifacts that depicted African American histories and family legacies. The play’s title highlights how the piano and its carvings act as a lesson about heritage and identity for Boy Willie and Berniece.
Analysis of Major Characters
Boy Willie
Boy Willie is determined to sell the piano to buy back the family’s land down South. For him, owning their ancestors’ farmland represents true freedom and advancement. His ambition butts against Berniece’s stubborn refusals. Their debate over the piano’s fate drives much of the dramatic conflict.
Boy Willie can be seen as practically minded – he wants to invest in property and improve his material position. But he underestimates the piano’s emotional and historical value to Berniece until the powerful final scene.
Despite occasionally questionable behavior, Boy Willie has romanticized ideas of defending his honor and rights at any cost. This links him to the family legacy of resistance represented by the piano carvings.
Berniece
Berniece is stuck in a traumatic past – haunted by memories of her husband’s murder, she is unable to move forward personally or support Boy Willie’s plans. Keeping the piano represents staying connected to her heritage and identity.
Berniece takes a stand for preserving family history and respecting the meaning behind the carvings. To her, selling the piano for money is a betrayal of the family’s painful sacrifices.
When Boy Willie forces Berniece to confront the piano and her ancestors in a climactic exorcism scene, she finally achieves catharsis over her husband’s death. This marks Berniece’s awakening – she realizes the piano is meant to uplift future generations.
Doaker Charles
The uncle of Boy Willie and Berniece, Doaker Charles acts as storyteller and voice of wisdom in the family’s generational debate. It is Doaker who recounts their family’s history through the piano carvings.
While he sympathizes with Berniece’s emotional attachment to the piano, he also tries to mediate between the rigid siblings for much of the play. Doaker acts as guide and counselor – though the Charles family disagrees, Doaker works to help them find their way.
His belief in honoring the ancestors helps motivate the final scene where Boy Willie and Berniece reconnect with their family’s enduring strength.
Themes and Analysis
Family Inheritance and Legacy
The piano carved with their family’s history connects Boy Willie and Berniece to past generations. Their conflict stems directly from this inherited family treasure and its symbolic meaning. What to do with the piano raises questions of ownership, legacy, and how to carry origins into the future.
Slavery robbed their family of land and freedom – the piano carvings depict ancestors who were treated as property. So keeping the piano becomes Berniece’s way of honoring their sacrifices. To Boy Willie, buying back their land is the path to uplifting the family legacy. Their debate over piano versus land represent differing approaches to empowering the family name.
August Wilson based this theme on the real experiences of African Americans struggling to build wealth and stability after the deprivations of slavery and sharecropping systems. The siblings’ opposing strategies reflect these ongoing challenges.
Trauma and Memory
Berniece is paralyzed by the trauma of her husband’s murder. She cannot let go of the past – the piano’s carvings conjure memories that haunt Berniece rather than strengthening her.
Yet suppressing her pain only stifles Berniece until the final confrontation. Berniece needs to exorcise her ghosts before finding peace and clarity. Her Ever-Ready flashlight that won’t switch on symbolizes being stuck in darkness. Only by communing with the ancestors represented in the piano does Berniece finally “see the light”.
Berniece’s trauma parallels the broader African American experience – a painful history that must be reconciled in order to move forward. Boy Willie forces Berniece to reckon with their family’s hard-earned strength to overcome oppression.
The Burden and Blessing of Heritage
The carved piano initially seems to trap the family in the past – Berniece is too burdened by its history to play it anymore. The siblings get stuck in their polarized positions over keeping or selling it.
Yet their musical heritage ultimately proves liberating once they reengage with it. Boy Willie and Berniece realize they do not have to be bound by the piano’s history but can embrace it as motivation to succeed in life. As Doaker says, their ancestors did the carving so “the children would know they were once slaves and not forget it.”
This highlights the dual nature of cultural inheritance – it inevitably involves burdensome memories but properly harnessed can provide contemporary strength and inspiration.
Significance of the Piano’s Carvings
The piano carvings depict the family’s genesis on the Southern plantation:
– Scenes showing ancestors being traded represent the traumatic origins of an African American family under slavery.
– Images of Boy Willie’s grandfather Willie Boy and his wife Mama Esther illustrate how earlier generations endured human trafficking and separation.
– Carvings of Black workers picking cotton demonstrate centuries of exploited labor.
– Biblical stories like Noah’s Ark evoke faith and fortitude in harsh conditions.
To Boy Willie, they are just wood that could be sold for profit. But to Berniece, they bring her family’s sacrifices to life so the trauma black Americans overcame is never forgotten.
As Doaker recounts, Willie Boy carved the scenes after “his mind snapped” following Mama Esther’s death. His obsessed carving conveys desperate attempts to process personal and historical trauma. Engraving family narratives into his instrument gave Willie Boy’s pain creative purpose.
The piano serves as a medium allowing each generation to communicate its lived experiences – from Willie Boy’s carvings, to Berniece’s playing, to Boy Willie’s quest to reconnect with the family’s stolen farmland. August Wilson expressed how creative arts became vital outlets for processing intergenerational struggles.
Conclusion
Though The Piano Lesson has closed its latest Broadway run, the themes and questions it explores still resonate. At its heart, the play deals with universal dilemmas: how to honor the past while moving forward; how to make peace with a difficult history; how to carry inherited burdens into hope and growth. The siblings’ fight over the carved piano expresses these tensions.
While a specifically African American story, the lessons of Wilson’s drama apply to any family wrestling with the weights of its lineage. The Piano Lesson remains a classic because it expresses both the responsibility and opportunity embedded in our origins. Its Broadway revivals introduce these layered stories to new generations.