The Piano Lesson
Encyclopedia
The Piano Lesson is a 1990 play by American playwright August Wilson
. The Piano Lesson is the fifth play in Wilson's The Pittsburgh Cycle. Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir[ing] a sense of self-worth by denying ones past". The Piano Lesson received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
.
Inspired by a Romare Bearden
painting titled The Piano Lesson, Wilson was inspired to write a play featuring a strong female character to confront African-American history, paralleling Troy in earlier Fences. However, after finishing his play, Wilson found the ending to stray from the empowered female character as well as the question regarding one's self worth. The final question proposed by The Piano Lesson seems to ask, "what do you do with your legacy, and how do you best put it to use?".
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression
, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Sutter family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the infamous piano. The play focuses on the arguments between a brother and a sister who have different ideas on what to do with the piano they own. The brother, Boy Willie, is a sharecropper who wants to sell the piano to buy the land that his ancestors had toiled on as slaves while the sister, Berniece, remains emphatic about keeping it. The piano shows the carved faces of their great-grandfather's wife of son during the days of their enslavement.
Doaker is also one of the only characters that truly understand Berniece's desire to not sell the piano so that the legacy of their family may remain. He may maintain a neutral view of who whether the piano should be kept of sold, but he does prevent Boy Willie from taking the piano and bolting without Berniece's knowledge.
Boy Willie: The antagonist of the play, Berniece's impulsive 30 year old brother represents the lack of accepting one's past. A sharecropper and recently delivered out of prison from Mississippi
, Boy Willie plans to sell the piano and use the earnings to buy the land where his ancestors had formerly toiled. His use of the legacy comes down to practicality; Willie finds the rich culture of his history engraved on the piano through pictures, blood, and tears to be a simple conversion to money. Rather than looking upon his past and accepting it, Boy Willie finds the constant need to prove himself as equal to the white man.
Boy Willie sees the selling of the piano as revenge upon his father who grew up raising Boy Willie with no property aside from an old piano. Unable to understand the importance of keeping one's legacy around one to understand and grow from it, Boy Willie only concerns himself with labels and capital
. In the last scene of the book, after Berniece calls to the ancestors, Boy Willie finally understands that there is no escape from living his ancestral legacy and the only way to benefit from it is to learn from it.
Lymon: Lymon is the 29 year old friend of Boy Willie and is much more secretive and shy in comparison. He does not speak brashly and attempts to escape the law by staying in the North and starting a new life.
One of the few characters in this play not related to the members of the Charles household, Lymon offers help and sporadic advice to the other characters. He listens to Doaker's version of the piano story, sympathizes with Boy Willie's desires to sell the piano, and attempts to understand Berniece's connection to the piano. Lymon is also obsessed with women and plays a large role in allowing Berniece to slowly relieve the mourning of Crawley, her deceased husband.
His desire to please women and find his soul mate softens Berniece's gaze on crude men and gives him a slight leeway to kiss her.
Berniece: The 35 year old mother of Maretha, Berniece symbolizes the guardian of her ancestors' past. She remains the only member of the family to adamantly demand the keepsake of the piano heirloom. Her relation with her brother further portrays her mourning of her late husband Crawley. Blaming Boy Willie for Crawley's death, Berniece questions Boy Willie's foolish actions more than others. While Boy Willie represents an opposing figure to their father Boy Charles by wanting to be a property owning man, Berniece draws similarities to her mother Mama Ola who never seemed to recover from the mourning of her husband either.
Berniece feels as if the piano is more of her legend than is her brother's because she was the one who was led to the piano first. She did not feel the need to rearrange her ancestors' past and instead embraced it. To Berniece, the piano represents her father's life, since he died over it, and her mother's toil, since she incessantly asked Berniece to play after his death. Originally playing the role of the messenger between the dead ancestors and the living descendants, Berniece prefers to stop channeling her family's ghosts after her mother's death. Since she does not want to disturb the spirits in the piano, Berniece leaves the piano untouched and does not play it.
To save her daughter from the burdens that Berniece had to endure from playing the piano and helping her mother go through the pain and misery of losing her husband, Berniece refuses to let the spirits of her ancestors come back into her life. However in the last scene, Berniece finally resumes her role as the middle person between the living and dead. In this last scene, Berniece plays the piano again and fulfills her duty to her family's legacy.
Maretha: The 11 year old daughter of Berniece, Maretha plays the role of the future generation for the Charles family. Although Berniece teaches her how to play the piano, she does not allow any history of the piano become apparent to Maretha.
Maretha's encounters with ghosts are approached without Berniece's liking. Maretha also allows experimentation among the future progeny of the Charles family, leading observations regarding the best way to pass down family history.
Avery Brown: A 38 year old preacher who has been attempting to court Berniece ever since the death of Crawley, Avery Brown is a man of honest and good intentions. Constantly stressing his Christian view on things and advocating his hopes to build a congregation, Avery is aware that Berniece will never sell her piano heirloom. Also not related to the Charles family, Avery often offers advice to Berniece in an effort to help her let go of the fears of her past and the lingering mourning of her husband.
Avery's humble personality further emphasizes Berniece's lack of relieving her deceased husband's memory. He tries desperately to help her find her path and supports her through her pain. In the final scene, Avery's blessings on the house help bring Berniece back to her position of communicating between the living and the deceased.
Wining Boy: The comical figure in The Piano Lesson, the Wining Boy is the 56 year old elder brother of Doaker Charles. He tries to portray the image of a successful musician and gambler, but his music and attire are extremely dated. Instead of wanting to live in the present and the future like his nephew Boy Willie, Wining Boy drowns himself in the sorrows of his past. Whenever he ends up bankrupt, he wanders back into the Charles house to retell the days of the glory and fame.
His former days of glory emphasize the submergence of his soul in the past. Wining Boy is also the only other character, aside from Berniece, who can speak with the dead. He speaks to the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog and to his deceased wife, Cleotha.
Grace: One of the last figures to be added to the play, Grace shows the desires of both Boy Willie and Lymon. Both men attempt to be with her and play to her good graces. Since she is not a member of the Charles family, the tension she feels in the last scene of Act Two demonstrates how strong the presence of the ancestral ghosts are in the Charles household.
Mentioned characters
The Boy Willie and Lymon enter into the Charles household at dawn with a truck full of watermelon they intend to sell. Against his better judgment and Uncle Doaker's insistence, Boy Willie calls awake his sister, Berniece who he has not seen in three years due to his sentence in the Parchment Prison Farm. Altogether, the family members and Lymon celebrate the drowning of Sutter (the family who owned the Charles's family during slavery) in the well. Tired of her brother's stupid actions, Berniece dismisses her brother's words and wishes him to leave the house as soon as possible. To annoy her further, Boy Willie calls upon Maretha, Berniece's daughter, in the middle of the night to stir her from her sleep, causing Berniece to run back up the stairs.
Switching topics, Willie then asks of his Uncle Wining Boy, who has become a wanderer in his middle age looking for the past he seems to want to relive. Lymon then brings up the piano. Willie intends to sell the watermelon and the piano to buy the Sutter's land the Charles family had once toiled upon. Doaker insists that Berniece will not agree to selling the piano and Willie insists that he will convince her.
Seeing Sutter's ghost dressed in a blue suit, Berniece then screams at the top of the stairs. Her brother, Willie tells her that she is imaging things and that Sutter is looking for the piano to be rid of the Charles household. After Doaker rambles on about his railroad stories, Maretha comes downstairs and Willie asks her to play the piano. She plays the beginning of a few simple tunes and he answers her song with a boogie-woogie. Willie then asks Maretha if she knows the origins of the piano and is surprised to discover she does not. Avery and Berniece reenter the room and Willie casually asks his sister if she might still have the protective buyer's name. Finally professing his want to sell the piano for land, Berniece refuses to listen and walks out.
Wining Boy and Doaker are having a conversation of the daily events and together they muse over the present and the past. Boy Willie and Lymon enter and claim that they have already bargained with the piano purchaser. Both of Willie's uncles warn Willie that the white man Sutter is cheating him and that he should be more careful. Seeing himself as equal to the white man, Boy Willie refuses to listen. The story behind Lymon and Boy Willies term in the Parchment Prison Farm is revealed. Lymon and Willie both gather different perspectives from their experiences. Lymon feels that he should flee to the North where he will be better treated while Willie feels that whites only treat blacks badly if the blacks do not try and stop them. Wining Boy is then asked to play the piano, instead he gives a short speech regarding his inexistence due to playing piano his whole life and knowing nothing more.
On the topic of the piano, Doaker then tells the piano's story to Lymon. The story represented the enriching values that the piano bestowed on the Charles family. When he finished the tale, Willie firmly declares that these are stories of the past and that the piano should now be put to good use. Willie and Lymon then attempt to move the piano to test its weight for moving day. As soon as they try to move it, Sutter's ghost is heard. Berniece commands Willie to stop and informs him that he is selling his soul for money. Willie refutes her, Berniece blames Crawleys death on Willie, and the two engage in a fight. Upstairs, Maretha is confronted by the ghosts, and she screams.
Doaker and Wining Boy are again together in the house alone. Doaker confesses that he saw Sutter's ghost playing the piano and feels that Berniece should discard the piano as to prevent spirits from traumatizing the Charles family. Wining Boy disagrees and changes the subject. As this happens, Lymon and Willie walk into the room after a watermelon sale. Wining Boy sells his suit and shoes to Lymon promising its swooning affects on woman. Both Lymon and Willie leave the house in hot pursuit of women.
Later that day as Berniece is preparing for her bath, Avery enters and proposes that Berniece should open up and let go. He tells her that she cannot continue to live her life with Crawley's memory shut inside her. Berniece changes the topic and asks Avery to bless the house, hoping to destroy the spirit of the Sutter Ghost. Avery then brings up the piano and tells Berniece she should learn to not be afraid of her family's spirits and play it again. Berniece breaks down her story of her mother's tears and blood mingled with her father's soul on the piano and refuses to open her wounds for everyone to see.
Boy Willie enters the Charles House with Grace and begins to fool around on the couch. Berniece orders them out and opens the door to see Lymon. Lymon is upset over his disability to woo woman and begins to talk about woman's virtues to Berniece. The two kiss, breaking Berniece's discomfort over Crawley's death and Berniece heads back upstairs.
The next morning, Lymon and Willie try to move the piano out and is stopped by Uncle Doaker. Willie becomes frustrated and demands that he will sell the piano no matter what extents he has to reach. As the next day passes, the day to move the piano draws closer. Excited to sell the piano, Willie quickly partakes on his actions without a care of his sister's words. Berniece appears with Crawley's gun leading Doaker and Avery to urge them to talk it through first. Sutter's presence as a ghost is suddenly revived. Avery attempts to drive the ghost away with his blessings but is not successful. Suddenly, Berniece knows that she must play the piano again as a plea to her ancestors. Finally, the house is lead to a calm aura, and Willie leaves.
Crew
Cast
Cast
TV movie entitled The Piano Lesson
aired on CBS
on February 5, 1995, starring Charles S. Dutton
and Alfre Woodard
. It was also directed by Lloyd Richards.
Cast
Awards
Nominations
August Wilson
August Wilson was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama...
. The Piano Lesson is the fifth play in Wilson's The Pittsburgh Cycle. Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir[ing] a sense of self-worth by denying ones past". The Piano Lesson received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
.
Inspired by a Romare Bearden
Romare Bearden
Romare Bearden was an African American artist and writer. He worked in several media including cartoons, oils, and collage.-Education:...
painting titled The Piano Lesson, Wilson was inspired to write a play featuring a strong female character to confront African-American history, paralleling Troy in earlier Fences. However, after finishing his play, Wilson found the ending to stray from the empowered female character as well as the question regarding one's self worth. The final question proposed by The Piano Lesson seems to ask, "what do you do with your legacy, and how do you best put it to use?".
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Sutter family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the infamous piano. The play focuses on the arguments between a brother and a sister who have different ideas on what to do with the piano they own. The brother, Boy Willie, is a sharecropper who wants to sell the piano to buy the land that his ancestors had toiled on as slaves while the sister, Berniece, remains emphatic about keeping it. The piano shows the carved faces of their great-grandfather's wife of son during the days of their enslavement.
Characters
Doaker Charles: The owner of the Charles household; the uncle of Berniece and Boy Willie. He lives with his niece Bernice and great-niece Maretha. A tall and thin 47 year old man, Charles recounts the most detailed parts of his lives with his job on the railroad. Doaker plays the role of the storyteller, giving detailed and long accounts of the piano's history. Due to his old age, his connection to the past is expressed through his stories.- "Ain’t nobody said nothing about who's right and who's wrong. I was just telling the man about the piano. I was telling him why we say Berniece ain’t gonna sell it."Wilson, August. The Piano Lesson, Act 1, Scene 2.
Doaker is also one of the only characters that truly understand Berniece's desire to not sell the piano so that the legacy of their family may remain. He may maintain a neutral view of who whether the piano should be kept of sold, but he does prevent Boy Willie from taking the piano and bolting without Berniece's knowledge.
Boy Willie: The antagonist of the play, Berniece's impulsive 30 year old brother represents the lack of accepting one's past. A sharecropper and recently delivered out of prison from Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Boy Willie plans to sell the piano and use the earnings to buy the land where his ancestors had formerly toiled. His use of the legacy comes down to practicality; Willie finds the rich culture of his history engraved on the piano through pictures, blood, and tears to be a simple conversion to money. Rather than looking upon his past and accepting it, Boy Willie finds the constant need to prove himself as equal to the white man.
- "If my daddy had seen where he could have traded that piano in for some land of his own, it wouldn’t be sitting up here now. He spent his whole life farming on somebody else's land. I ain’t gonna do that. See, he couldn’t do no better. When he come along he ain’t had nothing he could build on. His daddy ain’t had nothing to give him. The only thing my daddy had to give me was that piano. And he died over giving me that. I ain’t gonna let it sit up there and rot without trying to do something with it."
Boy Willie sees the selling of the piano as revenge upon his father who grew up raising Boy Willie with no property aside from an old piano. Unable to understand the importance of keeping one's legacy around one to understand and grow from it, Boy Willie only concerns himself with labels and capital
Capital (economics)
In economics, capital, capital goods, or real capital refers to already-produced durable goods used in production of goods or services. The capital goods are not significantly consumed, though they may depreciate in the production process...
. In the last scene of the book, after Berniece calls to the ancestors, Boy Willie finally understands that there is no escape from living his ancestral legacy and the only way to benefit from it is to learn from it.
Lymon: Lymon is the 29 year old friend of Boy Willie and is much more secretive and shy in comparison. He does not speak brashly and attempts to escape the law by staying in the North and starting a new life.
One of the few characters in this play not related to the members of the Charles household, Lymon offers help and sporadic advice to the other characters. He listens to Doaker's version of the piano story, sympathizes with Boy Willie's desires to sell the piano, and attempts to understand Berniece's connection to the piano. Lymon is also obsessed with women and plays a large role in allowing Berniece to slowly relieve the mourning of Crawley, her deceased husband.
- "I just dream about woman. Can’t never seem to find the right one."Wilson, August. The Piano Lesson, Act 2, Scene 3.
His desire to please women and find his soul mate softens Berniece's gaze on crude men and gives him a slight leeway to kiss her.
Berniece: The 35 year old mother of Maretha, Berniece symbolizes the guardian of her ancestors' past. She remains the only member of the family to adamantly demand the keepsake of the piano heirloom. Her relation with her brother further portrays her mourning of her late husband Crawley. Blaming Boy Willie for Crawley's death, Berniece questions Boy Willie's foolish actions more than others. While Boy Willie represents an opposing figure to their father Boy Charles by wanting to be a property owning man, Berniece draws similarities to her mother Mama Ola who never seemed to recover from the mourning of her husband either.
- "Look at this piano. Look at it. Mama Ola polished this piano with her tears for seventeen years. For seventeen years she rubbed on it till her hands bled. The she rubbed the blood in…mixed it up with the rest of the blood on it. Every day that God breathed life into her body she rubbed and cleaned and polished and prayed over it. ‘Play something for me, Berniece. Play something for me, Berniece.’ Every day… You always talking about your daddy but you ain’t never stopped to look at what his foolishness cast your mamma."
Berniece feels as if the piano is more of her legend than is her brother's because she was the one who was led to the piano first. She did not feel the need to rearrange her ancestors' past and instead embraced it. To Berniece, the piano represents her father's life, since he died over it, and her mother's toil, since she incessantly asked Berniece to play after his death. Originally playing the role of the messenger between the dead ancestors and the living descendants, Berniece prefers to stop channeling her family's ghosts after her mother's death. Since she does not want to disturb the spirits in the piano, Berniece leaves the piano untouched and does not play it.
- "I told you I don’t play on that piano…When my mama died I shut the top on that piano and I ain’t never opened it since. I was only playing it for her. When my daddy died seem like al her life went into that piano. She used to have me play on it…say when I played it she could hear my daddy talking to her. I used to think them pictures come alive and walked through the house. Sometime late at night I could hear my mama talking to them. I said that wasn’t gonna happen to me I don’t play that piano ‘cause I don’t want to wake them spirits. They never be walking around in this house."Wilson, August. The Piano Lesson, Act 2, Scene 4.
To save her daughter from the burdens that Berniece had to endure from playing the piano and helping her mother go through the pain and misery of losing her husband, Berniece refuses to let the spirits of her ancestors come back into her life. However in the last scene, Berniece finally resumes her role as the middle person between the living and dead. In this last scene, Berniece plays the piano again and fulfills her duty to her family's legacy.
Maretha: The 11 year old daughter of Berniece, Maretha plays the role of the future generation for the Charles family. Although Berniece teaches her how to play the piano, she does not allow any history of the piano become apparent to Maretha.
- "Maretha…don’t know nothing about it…She don’t have to carry all of that with her. She got a chance I didn’t have. I ain’t gonna burden her with that piano." ."
Maretha's encounters with ghosts are approached without Berniece's liking. Maretha also allows experimentation among the future progeny of the Charles family, leading observations regarding the best way to pass down family history.
Avery Brown: A 38 year old preacher who has been attempting to court Berniece ever since the death of Crawley, Avery Brown is a man of honest and good intentions. Constantly stressing his Christian view on things and advocating his hopes to build a congregation, Avery is aware that Berniece will never sell her piano heirloom. Also not related to the Charles family, Avery often offers advice to Berniece in an effort to help her let go of the fears of her past and the lingering mourning of her husband.
- "You got to put all that behind you, Berniece. That's the same thing like Crawley. Everybody got stones in their passway. You got to step over them or walk around them. You picking them up and carrying them with you. All you got to do is set them down by the side of the road. You ain’t got to carry them with you. You can walk over there right now and play that piano…and God will walk over there with you."Wilson, August. The Piano Lesson, Act 2, Scene 2.
Avery's humble personality further emphasizes Berniece's lack of relieving her deceased husband's memory. He tries desperately to help her find her path and supports her through her pain. In the final scene, Avery's blessings on the house help bring Berniece back to her position of communicating between the living and the deceased.
Wining Boy: The comical figure in The Piano Lesson, the Wining Boy is the 56 year old elder brother of Doaker Charles. He tries to portray the image of a successful musician and gambler, but his music and attire are extremely dated. Instead of wanting to live in the present and the future like his nephew Boy Willie, Wining Boy drowns himself in the sorrows of his past. Whenever he ends up bankrupt, he wanders back into the Charles house to retell the days of the glory and fame.
- "I give that piano up. That was the best thing that ever happened to me, getting rid of that piano…Now, the first three or four years of that is fun. You cant get enough whiskey and you can’t get enough women and you don’t never get tired of playing that piano. But that only last so long. You look up one day and you hate the whiskey, and you hate the women, and you hate the piano. But that's all you got. You can’t do nothing else. All you know how do is play the piano. Now, who am I? Am I me? Or am I the piano player?"
His former days of glory emphasize the submergence of his soul in the past. Wining Boy is also the only other character, aside from Berniece, who can speak with the dead. He speaks to the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog and to his deceased wife, Cleotha.
Grace: One of the last figures to be added to the play, Grace shows the desires of both Boy Willie and Lymon. Both men attempt to be with her and play to her good graces. Since she is not a member of the Charles family, the tension she feels in the last scene of Act Two demonstrates how strong the presence of the ancestral ghosts are in the Charles household.
Mentioned characters
- Crawley: Berniece's deceased husband of three years
- Mama Ola: Berniece and Boy Willie's mother
- Boy Charles: Berniece and Boy Willie's father
- Sutter's Ghost: The man who owned the Charles family in the time of slavery
- Cleotha: Wining Boy's deceased wife
Plot
- Act 1, Scene 1
The Boy Willie and Lymon enter into the Charles household at dawn with a truck full of watermelon they intend to sell. Against his better judgment and Uncle Doaker's insistence, Boy Willie calls awake his sister, Berniece who he has not seen in three years due to his sentence in the Parchment Prison Farm. Altogether, the family members and Lymon celebrate the drowning of Sutter (the family who owned the Charles's family during slavery) in the well. Tired of her brother's stupid actions, Berniece dismisses her brother's words and wishes him to leave the house as soon as possible. To annoy her further, Boy Willie calls upon Maretha, Berniece's daughter, in the middle of the night to stir her from her sleep, causing Berniece to run back up the stairs.
Switching topics, Willie then asks of his Uncle Wining Boy, who has become a wanderer in his middle age looking for the past he seems to want to relive. Lymon then brings up the piano. Willie intends to sell the watermelon and the piano to buy the Sutter's land the Charles family had once toiled upon. Doaker insists that Berniece will not agree to selling the piano and Willie insists that he will convince her.
Seeing Sutter's ghost dressed in a blue suit, Berniece then screams at the top of the stairs. Her brother, Willie tells her that she is imaging things and that Sutter is looking for the piano to be rid of the Charles household. After Doaker rambles on about his railroad stories, Maretha comes downstairs and Willie asks her to play the piano. She plays the beginning of a few simple tunes and he answers her song with a boogie-woogie. Willie then asks Maretha if she knows the origins of the piano and is surprised to discover she does not. Avery and Berniece reenter the room and Willie casually asks his sister if she might still have the protective buyer's name. Finally professing his want to sell the piano for land, Berniece refuses to listen and walks out.
- Act 1, Scene 2
Wining Boy and Doaker are having a conversation of the daily events and together they muse over the present and the past. Boy Willie and Lymon enter and claim that they have already bargained with the piano purchaser. Both of Willie's uncles warn Willie that the white man Sutter is cheating him and that he should be more careful. Seeing himself as equal to the white man, Boy Willie refuses to listen. The story behind Lymon and Boy Willies term in the Parchment Prison Farm is revealed. Lymon and Willie both gather different perspectives from their experiences. Lymon feels that he should flee to the North where he will be better treated while Willie feels that whites only treat blacks badly if the blacks do not try and stop them. Wining Boy is then asked to play the piano, instead he gives a short speech regarding his inexistence due to playing piano his whole life and knowing nothing more.
On the topic of the piano, Doaker then tells the piano's story to Lymon. The story represented the enriching values that the piano bestowed on the Charles family. When he finished the tale, Willie firmly declares that these are stories of the past and that the piano should now be put to good use. Willie and Lymon then attempt to move the piano to test its weight for moving day. As soon as they try to move it, Sutter's ghost is heard. Berniece commands Willie to stop and informs him that he is selling his soul for money. Willie refutes her, Berniece blames Crawleys death on Willie, and the two engage in a fight. Upstairs, Maretha is confronted by the ghosts, and she screams.
- Act 2, Scene 1
Doaker and Wining Boy are again together in the house alone. Doaker confesses that he saw Sutter's ghost playing the piano and feels that Berniece should discard the piano as to prevent spirits from traumatizing the Charles family. Wining Boy disagrees and changes the subject. As this happens, Lymon and Willie walk into the room after a watermelon sale. Wining Boy sells his suit and shoes to Lymon promising its swooning affects on woman. Both Lymon and Willie leave the house in hot pursuit of women.
- Act 2, Scene 2
Later that day as Berniece is preparing for her bath, Avery enters and proposes that Berniece should open up and let go. He tells her that she cannot continue to live her life with Crawley's memory shut inside her. Berniece changes the topic and asks Avery to bless the house, hoping to destroy the spirit of the Sutter Ghost. Avery then brings up the piano and tells Berniece she should learn to not be afraid of her family's spirits and play it again. Berniece breaks down her story of her mother's tears and blood mingled with her father's soul on the piano and refuses to open her wounds for everyone to see.
- Act 2, Scenes 3–5
Boy Willie enters the Charles House with Grace and begins to fool around on the couch. Berniece orders them out and opens the door to see Lymon. Lymon is upset over his disability to woo woman and begins to talk about woman's virtues to Berniece. The two kiss, breaking Berniece's discomfort over Crawley's death and Berniece heads back upstairs.
The next morning, Lymon and Willie try to move the piano out and is stopped by Uncle Doaker. Willie becomes frustrated and demands that he will sell the piano no matter what extents he has to reach. As the next day passes, the day to move the piano draws closer. Excited to sell the piano, Willie quickly partakes on his actions without a care of his sister's words. Berniece appears with Crawley's gun leading Doaker and Avery to urge them to talk it through first. Sutter's presence as a ghost is suddenly revived. Avery attempts to drive the ghost away with his blessings but is not successful. Suddenly, Berniece knows that she must play the piano again as a plea to her ancestors. Finally, the house is lead to a calm aura, and Willie leaves.
First production
Cast- Doaker: Carl Gordon
- Boy Willie: Samuel L. JacksonSamuel L. JacksonSamuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
- Lymon: Rocky Carroll
- Berniece: Starletta DuPois
- Maretha: Chenee Johnson/Ylonda Powell
- Avery: Tommy HollisTommy HollisTommy Hollis was an American actor. A native of Jacksonville, Texas, he starred as Earl Little in the Spike Lee-directed movie Malcolm X . He died in New York City of a heart attack.-External links:...
- Wining Boy: Lou Myers
- Grace: Sharon Washington
Crew
- Director: Lloyd RichardsLloyd RichardsLloyd George Richards was a Canadian-American theatre director, actor, and dean of the Yale School of Drama from 1979 to 1991, and Yale University professor emeritus.- Biography :...
- Set Designer: E. David Cosier, Jr.
- Costume Designer: Constanza Romero
- Lighting Designer: Christopher Akerlind
- Sound Designer: J. Scott Servheen
- Musical Director: Dwight Andrews
- Production Stage Manager: Maureen F. Gibson
- Stage Manager: Gwendolyn M. Gilliam
Second production
- Opened: 9 January 1988
- Location: Huntington Theatre Company in Boston (Yale Repertory TheatreYale Repertory TheatreThe Yale Repertory Theatre at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut was founded by Robert Brustein, dean of the Yale School of Drama in 1966, with the goal of facilitating a meaningful collaboration between theatre professionals and talented students. In the process it has become one of the...
production)
Cast
- Doaker: Carl Gordon
- Boy Willie: Charles S. DuttonCharles S. DuttonCharles Stanley Dutton is an American stage, film, and television actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as "Fortune" in the film Rudy and "Dillon" in Alien 3...
- Lymon: Rocky Carrll
- Berniece: Starletta DuPois
- Maretha: Jaye Skinner
- Avery: Tommy Hollis
- Wining Boy: Lou Myers
- Grace: Sharon Washington
- Producing Director: Peter Altman
- Managing Director: Michael Maso
- Director: Lloyd Richards
- Set Designer: E. David Cosier, Jr.
- Costume Designer: Constanza Romero
- Lighting designer: Christopher Akerlind
- Sound Designer: J. Scott Servheen
- Musical Director: Dwight Andrews
- Stage Manager: Gwendolyn M. Gilliam
Third production
- Opened: 16 April 1990
- Location: Walter Kerr TheatreWalter Kerr TheatreThe Walter Kerr Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre. Located at 219 West 48th Street, it is owned and operated by Jujamcyn Theaters. One of the smaller auditoriums in the theatre district, it seats 975....
on BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
, New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
Cast
- Doaker: Carl Gordon
- Boy Willie: Charles S. Dutton
- Lymon: Rocky Carroll
- Berniece: S. Epatha Merkerson
- Maretha: Apryl R. Foster
- Avery: Tommy Hollis
- Wining Boy: Lou Myers
- Grace: Lisa Gay HamiltonLisa Gay HamiltonLisa Gay Hamilton is an American film, television, and theater actress known for her role as attorney Rebecca Washington on the ABC legal drama The Practice, and for her critically acclaimed performance as young Sethe in Jonathan Demme's film adaptation of Toni Morrison's Beloved...
- Director: Lloyd Richards
- Set Designer: E. David Cosier, Jr.
- Costume Designer: Constanza Romero
- Lighting designer: Christopher Akerlind
- Sound Designer: G. Thomas Clark
- Musical Director: Dwight Andrews
- Production Stage Manager: Karen L. Carpenter
- Stage Manager: Russell Johnson
Film adaptation
A Hallmark Hall of FameHallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011...
TV movie entitled The Piano Lesson
The Piano Lesson (film)
The Piano Lesson is a 1995 American TV movie based on the play The Piano Lesson by August Wilson. Produced by Hallmark Hall of Fame, the film originally aired on CBS on February 5, 1995. Directed by Lloyd Richards, the film starred Charles S. Dutton and Alfre Woodard, and relies on most of its...
aired on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
on February 5, 1995, starring Charles S. Dutton
Charles S. Dutton
Charles Stanley Dutton is an American stage, film, and television actor and director. He is perhaps best known for his roles as "Fortune" in the film Rudy and "Dillon" in Alien 3...
and Alfre Woodard
Alfre Woodard
Alfre Ette Woodard is an American film, stage, and television actress. She has been nominated once for an Academy Award and Grammy Awards, 17 times for Emmy Awards , and has also won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.She is known for her role in films such as Cross Creek, Miss...
. It was also directed by Lloyd Richards.
Cast
- Boy Willie: Charles S. Dutton
- Berniece Charles: Alfre Woodard
- Doaker: Garl Gordan
- Avery: Tommy Hollis
- Wining Boy: Lou Myers
- Lymon: Courtney B. VanceCourtney B. VanceCourtney Bernard Vance is an American actor. He was formerly a regular on the NBC/USA television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Assistant District Attorney Ron Carver. He was also a series regular on the ABC series FlashForward. As of 2011, he appears on the TNT series The Closer as Chief...
- Maretha: Zelda Harris
- Grace: Rosalyn Coleman
- Ace: Tommy Lafitte
- Miss Ophelia: Lynne Innerst
- Papa Willie Boy: Harold Surratt
- Mama Berniece: Elva Branson
- Sutter: Tim Hartman
- Watermelon Man: Ben Tatar
- Watermelon Lady: Alice Eisner
Awards and nominations
Awards
- 1990 Drama Desk AwardDrama Desk AwardThe Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding PlayDrama Desk Award for Outstanding PlayThis is a list of winners of the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play initially introduced in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatre.-1950s:Vernon Rice Award for Best Production... - 1990 New York Drama Critics' CircleNew York Drama Critics' CircleThe New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 24 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization was founded in 1935 at the Algonquin Hotel by a group that included Brooks Atkinson, Walter Winchell, and Robert Benchley...
Award for Best Play - 1990 Pulitzer PrizePulitzer PrizeThe Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
for DramaPulitzer Prize for DramaThe Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year... - 1995 Peabody AwardPeabody AwardThe George Foster Peabody Awards recognize distinguished and meritorious public service by radio and television stations, networks, producing organizations and individuals. In 1939, the National Association of Broadcasters formed a committee to recognize outstanding achievement in radio broadcasting...
Nominations
- 1990 Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best PlayTony Award for Best PlayThe Tony Award for Best Play is an annual award celebrating achievements in live American theatre, including musical theatre, honoring productions on Broadway in New York. It currently takes place in mid-June each year.There was no award in the Tony's first year... - 1995 Emmy AwardEmmy AwardAn Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
Outstanding Made for Television Movie - 1996 Emmy Award Outstanding Television Movie or Mini-Series