The Piano Lesson is a famous play by an equally accomplished African American playwright, August Wilson. It was originally held in 1987 and is one of the plays from Wilson’s ‘Pittsburgh Cycle’, a collection of ten distinct plays that depict the African American experience in different parts of the 20th century with the specific play taking place in 1936. Those themes include family relations, heritage and the African American experience, the plot revolves around a dispute between two siblings regarding their grandfather’s piano, which has negative and positive emotions attached to it.
Synopsis
The context of the play lies in Pittsburgh during the Depression, and the family in focus is called Charles who are trying to come to terms with the bloody legacy of a church-like piano, altogether beautifully adorned with a carving. The decorative details of the piano, made by their enslaved ancestors, capitalized the family’s agony and connection to their ancestry.
Berniece Charles owns the piano today and has vowed to never part with it as it is a reminder of the history of her family. She thinks the piano fetters their enslaved ancestors’ names and memories who labored and suffered under cruel laws and stands as a strong reminder of this family’s past turmoil and fight.
Boy Willie, a brother, has a different perspective. He comes from the South with the intention of selling the piano for the purpose of purchasing farmland, with the hopes that he can improve his future through land ownership. According to Boy Willie, the owning family was the one that suffered and the piano is not meant to provide torments but is a key to progress as the focus is on what the family can achieve in the future rather than what should be retained from the past.
These tensions pose more complex questions of the family’s culture and the extent they have to go to uphold this culture in order to find themselves. At the same time, with the increase in the drama, mystical forces rise suggesting that ancestors of their race are part of their struggle over the destiny of the piano.
Key Themes
Heritage and Legacy: The family can be traced back to the piano portraying the family’s legacy picture of both strength and pain. It can also be seen from Berniece’s honoring of the same that she respects history whilst Boy Willie marvels at it’s image and sees it as simple a tool for development which begs the question if history should be kept or reshaped for development purposes.
Family and Sacrifice: The playwright delves into the family and it’s members and what they are willing to lose for the benefit of those they care for. Just like the story of the Charles family, it seems they have a legacy that to them is physically represented as the piano and sacrifices have been placed for it for years.
Racial Identity and Empowerment: The characters’ experiences with the piano also expand the idea of race, self-worth and self-determination. The need to own land by Boy Willie represents independence. In contrast, the piano owned by Berniece represents the strength of the culture and pride.
Style and Symbolism
The Piano Lesson is richly endowed with powerful symbols and ins nucleotide effects. The piano is also a central multi-dimensional symbol of the pain and strength of the Charles family. The presence of ghosts and paranormal activities enrich the scene to suggest that even as the characters are trying to fight one another, they also battles the ‘pain’ of their ancestors that has not been erased out.
Wilson’s speech takes the form of realistic sound blended with lyrical background, depicting African American’s modes of speech on a particular history and heritage. The conversations depict the characters’ beliefs, values and wants and the supernatural elements of the play become a vivid illustration of the characters and their family history burdens.
Reception and Legacy The Piano Lesson received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1990 and is still cherished for its in-depth examination of African Americans in terms of identity, culture, and history. The drama is still regarded as one of Wilson’s most famous plays and has been staged all over the world. The 1995 television version featuring Charles S. Dutton and Alfre Woodard has been successful in introducing people to the power of Wilson’s themes. The lasting influence of the play is its idea of identity and the prospect of how people commemorate their origin. The interplay of humor, tragedy, and hope that Wilson crafted delicately appeals to people from all walks of life. Recent Adaptations The Piano Lesson made its way back to the stage with the ‘show business’ elements brought by the performers. In 2022, there was a Broadway revival directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson starring Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Brooks, and John David Washington who were instrumental in reintroducing Wilson’s masterpiece to a new generation. Additionally, a film adaptation is currently in development by Netflix, directed by and starring Denzel Washington. Similar Recommendations If you felt thrilled by The Piano Lesson, you will be able to enjoy: Fences by August Wilson – This is another play, belonging to Wilson’s Pittsburgh Cycle, which deals with generations, their conflict and dreams, as well as family issues.
Lorraine Hansberry writes about the same issues in her story, A Raisin in the Sun – legacy, sacrifices made by the family and the vision of a better tomorrow.
Same goes for this play by August Wilson which is situated earlier in Wilson’s cycle: the theme of freedom and memory of African Americans in history is seen through the lens of magic.
The Piano Lesson is still an extremely pained and thoughtful insight on history and culture, family and self that makes this play one of the classic American plays.
