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{{Infobox Play
{{Infobox Play
| name = The Piano Lesson
| name = The Piano Lesson
| image = The Piano Lesson cover.jpg
| image = The Piano Lesson.jpg
| image_size = 150px
| image_size = 150px
| caption = Hallmark teleplay DVD cover
| caption =
| writer = [[August Wilson]]
| writer = [[August Wilson]]
| characters = Boy Willie<br>Lymon<br>Maretha<br>Doaker<br>Grace<br>Avery<br>Berniece<br>Wining Boy
| setting = Pittsburgh, 1936
| setting = Pittsburgh, 1936
| premiere = 26 November 1987
| premiere = 26 November 1987
| place = [[Yale Repertory Theatre]]<br>[[New York City, New York]]
| place = [[Yale Repertory Theatre]]<br>[[New Haven, Connecticut]]
| orig_lang = {{English}}
| orig_lang = {{English}}
| series = [[August Wilson#The Pittsburgh Cycle|The Pittsburgh Cycle]]
| series = [[August Wilson#The Pittsburgh Cycle|''The Pittsburgh Cycle'']]
| subject =
| subject =
| genre =
| genre =
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}}
}}


'''''The Piano Lesson''''' is a play by [[United States|American]] [[playwright]] [[August Wilson]], the fourth in his series, [[August Wilson#The Pittsburgh Cycle|''The Pittsburgh Cycle'']]. The play premiered on 26 November 1987 at the [[Yale Repertory Theatre]] and debuted on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1990. The original Broadway cast featured [[Charles S. Dutton]], Carl Gordon, [[Rocky Carroll]], and [[S. Epatha Merkerson]]. Wilson received received the [[New York Drama Critics Circle Award]] and his second [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] for the work.
'''''The Piano Lesson''''' is a play by American [[playwright]] [[August Wilson]], the fourth in his series, [[August Wilson#The Pittsburgh Cycle|''The Pittsburgh Cycle'']]. The play premiered on 26 November 1987 at the [[Yale Repertory Theatre]] and debuted on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1990. The original Broadway cast featured [[Charles S. Dutton]], Carl Gordon, [[Rocky Carroll]], and [[S. Epatha Merkerson]]. Wilson received received the [[New York Drama Critics' Circle|New York Drama Critics Circle Award]] and his second [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] for the work.


==Plot synopsis==
==Plot synopsis==
; Characters
* Boy Willie
* Lymon
* Maretha
* Doaker
* Grace
* Avery
* Berniece
* Wining Boy

The play concerns a brother and a sister who argue about whether they should sell their family piano. Boy Willie, a [[sharecropper]] from the [[Southern United States|South]], wants to sell his family's ancestral piano to buy land. His [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]] sister Berniece insists on keeping it. The piano has the carved faces of their great-grandfather's wife and son, who were sold in exchange for the piano during the days of enslavement. In essence, the piano serves as an embodiment of their struggles as a family and how they overcame. However, the piano is mystical in many ways owing to its history. Being seen as a symbolic embodiment of their past ancestry, a subtle, reserved fear is also a part of their feelings toward their piano.
The play concerns a brother and a sister who argue about whether they should sell their family piano. Boy Willie, a [[sharecropper]] from the [[Southern United States|South]], wants to sell his family's ancestral piano to buy land. His [[Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]] sister Berniece insists on keeping it. The piano has the carved faces of their great-grandfather's wife and son, who were sold in exchange for the piano during the days of enslavement. In essence, the piano serves as an embodiment of their struggles as a family and how they overcame. However, the piano is mystical in many ways owing to its history. Being seen as a symbolic embodiment of their past ancestry, a subtle, reserved fear is also a part of their feelings toward their piano.


==Film adaptation==
==Productions==
[[Image:The Piano Lesson cover.jpg|thumb|120px|Hallmark [[teleplay]] DVD cover]]
The play was adapted for a [[television movie]] in 1995 directed by [[Lloyd Richards]] with Charles S. Dutton as Boy Willie and [[Alfre Woodard]] as Berniece.
The play was adapted for a [[teleplay]] production in 1995 directed by [[Lloyd Richards]] with Charles S. Dutton as Boy Willie and [[Alfre Woodard]] as Berniece.

==Awards and nominations== <!-- Non-performance awards only -->
;Awards
* 1990 Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play
* 1990 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play
* 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
* 1996 Peabody Award
;Nominations
* 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
* 1990 Tony Award for Best Play
* 1995 Outstanding Made for Television Movie
* 1996 Outstanding Television Movie or Mini-Series


==References==
==References==
<references/>
<references/>
* {{cite book | last=Wilson | first=August | title=The Piano Lesson | location=New York | publisher=Plume | year=1990 | isbn=0452265347 }}

==External links==
==External links==
* {{ibdb title|4560}}
* {{ibdb title|4560}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Piano Lesson, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piano Lesson, The}}
[[Category:1986 plays]]
[[Category:1986 plays]]
[[Category:1995 television films]]
[[Category:All-Black cast Broadway shows]]
[[Category:All-Black cast Broadway shows]]
[[Category:American plays]]
[[Category:American television films]]
[[Category:August Wilson plays]]
[[Category:August Wilson plays]]
[[Category:Broadway plays]]
[[Category:Broadway plays]]
[[Category:Drama Desk Award winning plays]]
[[Category:Drama Desk Award winning plays]]
[[Category:New York Drama Critics' Circle Award winners]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh in film and television]]
[[Category:Pittsburgh in film and television]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama]]
[[Category:Teleplays]]

Revision as of 00:43, 1 October 2008

The Piano Lesson
Written byAugust Wilson
Date premiered26 November 1987
Place premieredYale Repertory Theatre
New Haven, Connecticut
Original languageTransclusion error: {{En}} is only for use in File namespace. Use {{lang-en}} or {{in lang|en}} instead.
SeriesThe Pittsburgh Cycle
SettingPittsburgh, 1936

The Piano Lesson is a play by American playwright August Wilson, the fourth in his series, The Pittsburgh Cycle. The play premiered on 26 November 1987 at the Yale Repertory Theatre and debuted on Broadway in 1990. The original Broadway cast featured Charles S. Dutton, Carl Gordon, Rocky Carroll, and S. Epatha Merkerson. Wilson received received the New York Drama Critics Circle Award and his second Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the work.

Plot synopsis

Characters
  • Boy Willie
  • Lymon
  • Maretha
  • Doaker
  • Grace
  • Avery
  • Berniece
  • Wining Boy

The play concerns a brother and a sister who argue about whether they should sell their family piano. Boy Willie, a sharecropper from the South, wants to sell his family's ancestral piano to buy land. His Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania sister Berniece insists on keeping it. The piano has the carved faces of their great-grandfather's wife and son, who were sold in exchange for the piano during the days of enslavement. In essence, the piano serves as an embodiment of their struggles as a family and how they overcame. However, the piano is mystical in many ways owing to its history. Being seen as a symbolic embodiment of their past ancestry, a subtle, reserved fear is also a part of their feelings toward their piano.

Productions

Hallmark teleplay DVD cover

The play was adapted for a teleplay production in 1995 directed by Lloyd Richards with Charles S. Dutton as Boy Willie and Alfre Woodard as Berniece.

Awards and nominations

Awards
  • 1990 Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play
  • 1990 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play
  • 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
  • 1996 Peabody Award
Nominations
  • 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
  • 1990 Tony Award for Best Play
  • 1995 Outstanding Made for Television Movie
  • 1996 Outstanding Television Movie or Mini-Series

References

  • Wilson, August (1990). The Piano Lesson. New York: Plume. ISBN 0452265347.

External links


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