The cast of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson. Photo by Theresa Castracane Photography.
Everyman’s 35th season opening production and entry into Baltimore’s August Wilson Celebration is “The Piano Lesson.” It is part of his American Century Cycle, reflecting the Black experience in each decade of 20th century America. Nine of the ten plays take place in the Hill District of Pittsburgh and are sometimes referred to as the Pittsburgh Cycle. Romare Bearden’s 1983 painting “The Piano Lesson” was Wilson’s inspiration for the play. Bearden created his collage art by layering ideas over a foundational vision. Wilson created the play in similar fashion through improvisation and revision.
…superb…on how to live in the future with an understanding and respect for the past…
The play was first presented at the 1986 National Playwrights Conference as a staged reading. The initial production opened at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1987, played in Boston and Chicago the following years, and opened on Broadway In 1990. The play won the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Drama Desk and New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Best Play, and received five Tony Award nominations. The 2013 off-Broadway revival won four Lucille Lortel Awards and two Obie Awards. The 2022 Broadway revival won a Drama Desk Award for Best Revival. In 1995 the play was adapted for television and won a Peabody Award. A film adaptation was made for Netflix in 2024.
The setting is the living room and kitchen of the Doaker Charles’ house in 1936 during the aftermath of the Great Depression. The plot centers around the various members of the family coming to terms with their past, symbolized by the family piano decorated with carvings by an enslaved ancestor. Although Wilson began writing the play with the possibility of “acquiring a sense of self-worth by denying one’s past,” he found the ending of the play actually asks the question “What do you do with your legacy, and how do you best put it to use?” represented by the characters’ arguments over whether to keep or sell the piano.
Everyman founder and artistic director Vince Lancisi, in his pre-show address to the audience, mentioned that all ten plays of Wilson’s cycle were being performed in chronological order by ten different Baltimore area theaters, of which this production was the fourth. Director Paige Hernandez and her creative team have mounted a splendid production featuring resident company members as well as actors making their Everyman debut. The first act builds tension between family members mainly through conversation with little physical action. RJ Brown and Chinai Routte, portraying siblings Boy Willie and Berniece, with help from their uncles, Kenyatta Rogers (Wining Boy) and Jefferson Russell (Doaker), fill in the audience with the family history and background behind the many carvings on the piano which make it a family heirloom. Their conversation is rapid and animated by hand and facial expressions, as they move back and forth from living room to kitchen and to unseen bedrooms upstairs in Daniel Ettinger’s beautifully designed set. The projections, scenery, set pieces, and furnishings represent a well-kept, spacious, and comfortable home in Sunflower County. Ms. Hernandez keeps her actors’ characters quite busy as they talk while pouring drinks, fixing breakfast, putting groceries away, and wiping the table. It’s these little normal actions that add to the audience’s enjoyment and focus on the dialogue.
As other characters enter the story, Wilson has provided many little comedic scenes to ease the increasing dramatic tension. Louis Davis (Lymon) plays the friend who is caught up in a family drama but is rewarded with a used suit of clothes and shoes. Mack Leamon (Avery), the preacher counseling Berniece, is a minister with an eye toward romance. Mecca Verdell (Grace) has fun fighting off both Boy Willie’s and Lymon’s romantic advances. In the role of Maretha, Berniece’s young daughter, Payton Crozier adds a sentimental touch to the scenes in which she plays the piano and interacts affectionately with family members. This role is double cast with Mecca Rogers alternating—a wonderful acting experience for both teenagers. The real piano player in the family, however, is Wining Boy who wants to project the image of a successful player and gambler, but his music, his attire, and his drinking suggest otherwise. His scenes are comic but always with a tragic undertone. Mr. Rogers skillfully handles the character’s struggle as he lets his glory days of fame submerge his soul in the past.
Dave Remedios’ sound design is effective in using old piano recordings of piano and vocals as entrance/exit music for the audience and scene change music. The piano recordings for the actors’ playing were performed by Will Lebow and Quincy Phillips. Costumes designed by David Burdick, with wig design and hair consultation by Denise O’Brien, were reflective of 1930s attire and styles. Alberto Segarra kept the stage and characters well-lit and even brought some characterization to the piano before the play ended.
Everyman Theatre’s 35th season is off to a superb start. Although “The Piano Lesson” does not offer tips on how to play a piano, it offers tips on how to live in the future with an understanding and respect for the past—a lesson badly needed for our country and the world in these troubled times.
Running Time: Two hours and 30 minutes with one 15-minute intermission.
Advisory: Contains strong language, including profanity and racially charged terms; depictions and discussions of intimate situations; references to and depictions of racial violence and other violent situations; theatrical haze, flashing lights, loud sound effects, and a non-firing prop weapon onstage.
August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” runs through September 28, 2025, at Everyman Theatre, 315 West Fayette Street, Baltimore MD 21201. For more information and to purchase tickets, please contact the Box Office at 410-752-2208, Monday through Friday, 12 noon – 5 p.m., or go online. The Box Office is also open two hours before each performance for walk-up sales.
