The acclaimed August Wilson play, which will stream on Netflix, is the latest of his works to be adapted for film.
Fresh off a powerful Broadway revival, August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” is coming to Netflix. The streamer has announced a film adaptation of the popular play with Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler and Ray Fisher filling out the cast.
The film will serve as the feature directorial and screenwriting debut of Malcom Washington, John David Washington’s brother. Both are the sons of Denzel Washington, who is a producer of the film. Virgil Williams (“Mudbound”) co-wrote the screenplay with Malcolm Washington.
The official synopsis that Deadline obtained reads, “Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, ‘The Piano Lesson’ follows the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, which is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor.”
“The Piano Lesson” is one of the great American playwright’s 10 plays in his “American Century Cycle,” which also include favorites like “Fences” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”
The latter two plays were also adapted for film. Denzel Washington and Viola Davis starred in “Fences,” while Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman starred in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” Davis won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her turn in “Fences.”
Deadwyler joins the project fresh off her acclaimed performance as Mamie Till in “Till.” Her leading turn earned her numerous awards nominations at the BAFTAs, SAG awards, Critics Choice Awards and more.
Jackson, John David Washington, Fisher and Michael Potts reprise their roles in the film from the recent Broadway revival of “The Piano Lesson.” Corey Hawkins (“The Tragedy of Macbeth”) also joins the cast.
The latest Broadway production of “The Piano Lesson” ran for 27 previews and 124 regular performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, breaking records to become the highest-grossing August Wilson play in Broadway history and the highest-grossing Broadway revival of a play in the current season.
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