Samuel L. Jackson And John David Washington Star In ‘The Piano Lesson’ Trailer
The Piano Lesson is coming to Netflix.
The film adaptation of the August Wilson play stars Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington, reprising their roles from the Broadway revival of the show, which played 27 previews and 124 regular performances. The run ended in January 2023 and was the highest-grossing revival of a play on Broadway and the highest-grossing Wilson production on Broadway ever.
The movie is somewhat of a family affair. With John David Washington in a leading role, The Piano Lesson is the feature film directorial debut from his brother, Malcolm Washington. Their legendary father, Denzel Washington, is credited as a producer of the project.
Additionally the film stars Ray Fisher, Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith, Jerrika Hinton, and Gail Bean.
The Piano Lesson is set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, following the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household. An heirloom, the family piano, is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor.
The logline details, “A family clash over an heirloom piano explodes. The battle between brother and sister – one hopes to sell it, the other refuses to give it up – unleashes haunting truths about how the past is perceived and who defines a family legacy.”
The movie is set to debut in select theaters on Nov. 8 and stream on Netflix starting Nov. 22.
“The early months felt most like an archeological expedition. Co-writer Virgil Williams and I huddled around the table of his desert home, combing through August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, some days with a pickaxe, others with the soft bristles of a small brush delicately unearthing precious gems, driven by the pursuit of understanding the intent in each line, each action and each omission,” explained Malcolm Washington.
“May this work be an offering to the ancestors, a humble act of gratitude and tribute to them, and in honoring them, I honor the spirit of August Wilson and the legacy he left behind for all of us. A legacy that thrives in the power of Danielle Deadwyler’s Berniece, the dynamism of John David Washington’s Boy Willie, and the understated brilliance that is Samuel L. Jackson’s Doaker.”
Watch the official trailer for The Piano Lesson above.
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