Skip to main content Skip to footer site map
THE PIANO LESSON to be Filmed for the Lincoln Center Theatre on Film and Tape Archives

THE PIANO LESSON to be Filmed for the Lincoln Center Theatre on Film and Tape Archives

The Piano Lesson will play at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre through this Sunday, January 29, 2023.

The Broadway revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson will be filmed tonight for the Lincoln Center Theatre on Film and Tape Archives, therefore providing all theatre professionals a chance to watch the most successful Wilson production in Broadway history. The highest grossing revival of a play on Broadway this season is now playing at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (243 W 47th Street) through this Sunday, January 29, 2023.

During tonight's filming, Trai Byers, who had his final performance on January 15, will return as Avery for one-night-only for the special filming.

It was also recently announced that the titular prop piano will be donated to The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture after the culmination of the production's recently-extended run.

The Piano Lesson is directed by Tony Award® nominee LaTanya Richardson Jackson, who is making her Broadway directorial debut and is the first woman to ever direct an August Wilson play on Broadway. The production stars Samuel L. Jackson as Doaker Charles, John David Washington as Boy Willie, and Danielle Brooks as Berniece. The current cast also features Michael Potts as Wining Boy, Ray Fisher as Lymon, April Matthis as Grace, and Nadia Daniel and Jurnee Swan as Maretha at alternating performances.

August Wilson's The Piano Lesson, which premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1987 and starred a then-39-year-old Samuel L. Jackson as Boy Willie, is the fourth play in the American Century Cycle. Three years later, a new production, starring Carl Gordon, Charles S. Dutton and S. Epatha Merkerson, opened at Chicago's Goodman Theatre, and soon transferred to Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre. In addition to winning the Pulitzer Prize for drama, The Piano Lesson won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, the Peabody Award and was nominated for the 1990 Tony Award for Best Play.

The Piano Lesson is set in Pittsburgh's Hill District in 1936. A brother and sister are locked in a war over the fate of a family heirloom: a piano carved with the faces of their ancestors. The Piano Lesson, wrote Frank Rich in The New York Times, "has its own spacious poetry, its own sharp angle on a nation's history, its own metaphorical idea of drama and its own palpable ghosts that roar right through the upstairs window of the household where the action unfolds. Like other Wilson plays, The Piano Lesson seems to sing even when it is talking."

The design team for The Piano Lesson includes Tony Award winner Beowulf Boritt (Set Design), Tony Award nominee Toni-Leslie James (Costume Design), Tony Award nominee Japhy Weideman (Lighting Design), Tony Award winner Scott Lehrer (Sound Design), Drama Desk Award nominee Cookie Jordan (Wig Design), Tony Award nominee Jeff Sugg (Projection Design), Alvin Hough Jr. (Music & Music Direction), Otis Sallid (Choreographer). Casting is by Calleri, Jensen, Davis. General Management is by Foresight Theatrical.



Related Stories
THE PIANO LESSON Plays Final Broadway Performance Photo
On January 29, the Broadway revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson concludes its run at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, having played 27 previews and 124 regular performances. The production is the highest grossing revival of a play on Broadway and the highest grossing Wilson production on Broadway ever.

Prop Piano in THE PIANO LESSON to be Donated to The Smithsonian Photo
The titular prop piano in the hit Broadway revival of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson will be donated to The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture after the culmination of the production’s recently-extended run.

Photos: Oprah Winfrey, Billy Porter, Anne Hathaway, & More Visit THE PIANO LESSON Photo
The Piano Lesson on Broadway has seen several notable guests, including Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Billy Porter, Anne Hathaway, and more! BroadwayWorld was on hand to capture photos of the guests backstage with members of the cast. Check out the photos here!

Photos: See Robert De Niro, Lucy Liu & More Stars at THE PIANO LESSON Photo
See photos of Robert De Niro, Lucy Liu and many more stars attending The Piano Lesson on Broadway!


More Hot Stories For You


Nicholas Lloyd Webber, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Son, Has Passed AwayNicholas Lloyd Webber, Andrew Lloyd Webber's Son, Has Passed Away
March 25, 2023

Webber missed the Bad Cinderella opening on Thursday, March 23rd to be with his son, who passed away from stomach cancer after entering hospice care on Thursday.

Broadway Jukebox: The Best of Kander & EbbBroadway Jukebox: The Best of Kander & Ebb
March 25, 2023

Just yesterday, Broadway was introduced to the latest musical from John Kander and the late Fred Ebb- New York, New York is in previews at the St. James Theatre. We are celebrating the new musical with a playlist of the Best of Kander and Ebb.

Lea Michele Will Be Out of Today's FUNNY GIRL MatineeLea Michele Will Be Out of Today's FUNNY GIRL Matinee
March 25, 2023

Lea Michele will be out of today's matinee performance of Funny Girl on Saturday, March 25. Julie Benko will be on as Fanny. 

Video: Watch Jinkx Monsoon Sing CHICAGO's 'I Am My Own Best Friend' and More with ELLEVideo: Watch Jinkx Monsoon Sing CHICAGO's 'I Am My Own Best Friend' and More with ELLE
March 25, 2023

Watch Jinkx Monsoon sing musical theatre classics in a game of song association with ELLE!

Meet the Cast of THE THANKSGIVING PLAY, Beginning Previews on Broadway Tonight!Meet the Cast of THE THANKSGIVING PLAY, Beginning Previews on Broadway Tonight!
March 25, 2023

Second Stage Theater's production of Larissa FastHorse's play, The Thanksgiving Play, directed by Tony Award-winner Rachel Chavkin, will begin previews tonight, March 25th! Meet the cast of The Thanksgiving Play!