‘The Piano Lesson’ Trailer: Samuel L. Jackson And John David Washington Lead New August Wilson Adaptation
Photo from Variety
From Ryan Cordaro
I’m not too immersed in plays, but I do know the name August Wilson. I know about the Pittsburgh Cycle too, which is a series of 10 plays written and directed by Wilson that explores the evolving African-American experience throughout the 1900s. Two of them have been made into movies, Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. I really enjoyed both of these, and I’ve wondered if there’s a plan in place to eventually adapt all of the series. It’s also a big deal for awards since both Fences and Ma Rainey’s both did well during their respective years, and with The Piano Lesson, we could get another great one out of Wilson’s work.
The Piano Lesson follows the Charles family in post-Great Depression Pittsburgh. They own a piano decorated with carvings done by an enslaved ancestor of the family. The piano is a family heirloom, with the brother and sister clashing over what to do with it. All of the previous August Wilson adaptations have had Denzel Washington involved either on camera or behind the scenes. His son, Malcolm Washington, writes and directs the film, with John David Washington in a lead role. It’s also expected to be a big awards play for Netflix, especially for Samuel L. Jackson, who is one of many who reprises his role from the recent Broadway revival of the production in 2022.
The film stars Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction, the upcoming Fight Night), John David Washington (BlackKklansman, Tenet), Ray Fisher (Rebel Moon, True Detective), Michael Potts (Rustin, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), Erykah Badu (The Cider House Rules, What Men Want), Skylar Aleece Smith (Emancipation, Kinship), Jerrika Hinton (Hunters, Grey’s Anatomy), Gail Bean (Snowfall, The Belko Experiment), Danielle Deadwyler (Till, I Saw The TV Glow), and Corey Hawkins (The Color Purple, Straight Outta Compton).
After premiering at the Toronto Film Festival next month, The Piano Lesson drops on Netflix on November 22nd, 2024, with a limited theatrical release happening on November 8th.
