Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning THE PIANO LESSON returns to Broadway, sturdily staged and acted

• By drediman
• October 14, 2022
• No Comments

Last night, the eagerly awaited revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, headlined by film star Samuel L. Jackson and directed by his wife LaTanya Richardson Jackson. Set in Pittsburgh in 1936, the 1990 Pulitzer Prize-winning play (the work was originally seen at Yale Rep in 1987) tells the story of Boy Willie and Berniece, a pair of siblings who squabble over the fate their mutually-owned piano (which came into the family’s possession after great strife and a tragic loss) — to sell and benefit financially from it or keep the heirloom tightly-held in the family?

In short, it’s a joy to see an August Wilson play gracing the Great White Way once again (the last occurrence was the smash hit revival of Fences starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis). Ms. Jackson’s staging registers on an epic scale yet is able to find texture in the everyday circumstances of life. In the hands of her excellent cast, Wilson’s gorgeous monologues (more like arias) grab the attention and imagination as they absolutely should. Less successful, however, is how Ms. Jackson’s otherwise sturdy staging handles the delicate balance between the play’s naturalism and its intermittent ghostly interludes. Most conspicuously, the play’s haunted and cathartic climax oddly fails to exorcise the demons of the past that the characters try so hard to extract themselves from over the course of the play.

Joining Mr. Jackson are Danielle Brooks and John David Washington (Denzel’s son) as the the feuding brother and sister. Mr. Washington is particularly electric as a restless soul determined to find a footing in life. Not to be forgotten is Michael Potts’ performance in the supporting role of Wining Boy — a fine piece of acting that possesses all the hallmarks of an ideal Wilsonian performance (sassy, scrappy, lived in). Despite the production’s slight tonal issues, the cast does right by the playwright’s muscular yet poetically attuned work.

RECOMMENDED

THE PIANO LESSON
Broadway, Play
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
2 hours, 45 minutes (with one intermission)
Through January 15