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The struggle between brother and sister, Boy Willie and Berneice, over this family heirloom is more than just an exercise in the productive use of the unused piano but points to the importance of trying to preserve memory in a world that does not cherish such notions. I had just been reading his "The Spectator", a compilation of some of his interviews of various authors, actors and other celebrities from his long-running Chicago radio program when I came across an interview that he had with the playwright under review here, August Wilson. That play has been reviewed elsewhere in this space but as is my habit when I read an author who "speaks" to me I grab everything I can by him or her to see where they are going with the work. Sometimes that is done by the lead character as was the case with Troy Maxton in "Fences" when he (correctly) stated that there should been "no too early" in regard to the possibilities of black achievement and prospects in America. In "The Piano Lesson" no one phrase sticks out as much as the story surrounding the history of the piano, the carvings engraved in it and the historical memories of slave, slave-owner and the scars of slavery's harm on black life in the 1930's (and the 2000's). For Studs it was the incessant interviews, for me it is incessant political activity and for the late August Wilson it was his incessant devotion to his century cycle of ten plays that covered a range of black experiences over the 20th century. Our mutual love of the blues, our concerns about the history and fate of black people and the other oppressed of capitalist society and our need to express ourselves politically in the best way we can.
Strangely, although I was familiar with the name of the playwright August Wilson and was aware that he had produced a number of plays that were performed at a college-sponsored repertory theater here in Boston I had not seen or read his plays prior to reading the Terkel interview. Naturally when I read there that one of the plays being discussed was entitled "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" about the legendary female blues singer from the 1920's I ran out to get a copy of the play. Okay, blame it on the recently departed Studs Terkel and his damn interview books. Rather than keep following that path for the next five plays I would prefer to concentrate on some of the dialogue that makes Brother Wilson's work so compelling. For those who want to peek at my general observations you can look at my review of "Gem Of The Ocean" (the first play chronologically in the cycle).In all previously reviewed plays I noticed some piece of dialogue that seemed to me to sum up the essence of the play. Other times it is by a secondary character in the form of some handed down black folk wisdom as means to survive in racially-hardened America. Once again, kudos Brother Wilson. The ill-fated King Hedleys, I and II, and Troy Maxtons of the world (characters in other Wilson plays in this cycle) deserve no less.
Of course, that interview dealt with things near and dear to their hearts on the cultural front and mine as well. This is not the best play in the Wilson cycle by a long shot but, as always, there is plenty of food for thought for anyone who has confronted this issue. This is doubly true in the case of Brother Wilson as his work is purposefully structured as an integrated cycle, and as an intensive dramatic look at the black historical experience of the 20th century that has driven a lot of my own above-mentioned political activism.By the time that this review appears I will have already reviewed five of the ten plays in August Wilson's Century cycle. On the first five I believe that I ran out of fulsome praise for his work and particularly for his tightly woven story and dialogue. Slavery times, and Jim Crow times, and de facto segregation times and, unfortunately now, in so-called "post-racial" times demand the preservation of such memory.
'The Piano Lesson' is a play that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. We had the pleasure of seeing director Ed Smith's staging of 'The Piano Lesson' at the Jubilee Theatre in Fort Worth, TX. It's a must-see for any fan of good theater. A fine director and cast finds the energy and humor in August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1990 work. It was brilliant - Boy Willie, Wining Boy, Doaker, Lyman - what great characters. August Wilson has created a treasure trove of American originals.
As we expect from a writer of Wilson's caliber, "The Piano Lesson" is full of family tension, careful nuance, buried secrets, and stirring revelations. She makes some interesting points about the difference between reading a play as literature, and seeing it performed on the stage. The Charles family must resolve whether it belongs to them, a monument to loved ones long gone, or whether its monetary value can pave the way to a productive future of ownership on the land where they once were slaves.The fourth play in Wilson's "Century Cycle," and the fifth written, turns on the question of whether it is nobler to honor the past or look to the future. As the last living memory of American slavery gives way to the hurlyburly of the Twentieth Century, the Charles family piano straddles the line between the two. I recommend reading this play as a literary gem and as a great piece of American culture. The threads suddenly wrap up very neatly in a way that feels sudden and unearned.The TCG hardback includes an introduction by Nobel laureate Toni Morrison.
And the conclusion is too abrupt.
The dialog also sings with the stunning passion of African American folk language, in a music comparable to David Mamet, but distinctively Wilson's own.My problem with the play is the second act.
Concise and insightful, Morrison's intro is almost as worth a read as the play itself.This play is of value both as a part of Wilson's magnum opus and as a literary gem in its own right.
Not just a musical instrument, it's a work of visual art.
She's right to say that details which can only be alluded to onstage--such as Lymon's truck or Sutter's ghost--become more real when read off the page.
Act One is unified, tightly structured, and although it appears slow moving, every line of dialog is packed with insight.
But Act Two breaks down into a number of short scenes, looser in structure, at least one of which (II.iv) could probably be removed without damaging the play.
But that value is packed almost entirely into Act One.
But be aware that, like most literature, it is imperfect, and the greatness that creates the play is what makes its shortcomings all the more visible.
Among them, should a family sell their past to secure a future. In my opinion, "The Piano Lesson" is the best of the lot. August Wilson's "Century Cycle" presents the African-American experience in the twentieth century. IS there a future for African-Americans in the south. On its surface, it is a simple play - two siblings have different ideas about what to do with a piano one of them inherited from their father - one wants to keep it in her parlour in Pittsburgh (although she never plays it), the other wants to sell it in order to purchase his own piece of land in Mississippi. Like every masterpiece, however, the closer you look at the conflict, the more complex - and telling of human nature - it becomes.I don't want to spoil the story; I will say, however, that the piano in question (a family heirloom of several generations) has many lessons to teach. And perhaps most importantly, how does one live with and deal with the ghosts of one's past.The set is simple, the dialogue terse - almost frugal - but the power behind them and the questions and issues the characters raise make it clear why this play won Wilson a Pulitzer. A recommended read - and a must-see when it is performed.
Acclaimed playwright, August Wilson, pens The Piano Lesson, a story of a family living in Pittsburgh whose family ancestry traces back to slavery in the South. For Berniece, the piano, despite being haunted by the past, is steeped in family heritage: "Money can't buy what that piano cost. And he died over giving me that. You will find that Wilson was careful not to add too much depth to the other characters in the two act play. I believe any number of lessons could be found. A reserved Berniece wants to keep the piano in the family. A piano is the cause of much contention particularly between two characters: Boy Willie and his sister, Berniece. You can't sell your soul for money." For Boy Willie, well, he's fighting family demons, literally and figuratively: "The only thing my Daddy had to give me was that piano.
An over-exuberant Boy Willie insists that the piano be sold to help him purchase land in the South. Family strife is inflamed even more by the fact that the piano is haunted by the original piano owner, Sutter, who paid for the piano with a few of his slaves (similar to the candelabra in the '98 movie, Down in the Delta). I ain't gonna let it sit up there and rot without trying to do something with it." As for the lesson learned, in my opinion, Wilson leaves that open for interpretation. Wilson brilliantly crafts this play to leave the reader thinking in the end; perhaps that was part of the lesson plan as well.see also DVD The Piano Lesson
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