Review: AUGUST WILSONS'S THE PIANO LESSON at Des Moines Playhouse and Pyramid Theatre Company
Two theatre companies come together to make a production that audiences will be talking about long after the final curtain.
In 2019 I attended my first two Pyramid Theatre shows. Immediately, I was drawn to the work the company was producing. So in 2020, I was heartbroken when Covid forced them to cancel their season. Coming into 2021, I was thrilled to find out they were partnering with Des Moines Playhouse to produce "A Love Offering." It was the first live production I saw coming out of the shutdown. This production was just the start of a beautiful partnership that brought a workshop production of "Buffalo Women" and now August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson," which opened on February 3. If this production is any indication of what the partnership of these two theatre companies can do, then I hope it continues far past this season.
August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson" is part of a 10-play Century Cycle. A cycle of plays where each play takes a look at the experience of the African-American community through the 2Oth Century, with this play taking place in the 1930s. The story centers around a piano that has been in the family for generations and has beautiful carvings showing the family's history. Leading the story are two siblings Bernice, who wants to keep the piano and never plays it, and Boy Willie, who wants to sell the piano to buy land. Their feelings towards the piano intensify throughout the show when the ghost of Sutter appears. Who is Sutter, and why does seeing his ghost have such an impact on the family? For that, you will have to attend the show to find out.
Drake University Alumni and Pyramid Theatre Company Co-Founder Ken-Matt Martin beautifully directs this production. He has done a fantastic job of finding the humor, emotion, and thrills that come with doing this production. The set, which I was in awe of just walking into the theatre, was designed by Chicago-based scenic designer Sydney Lynne. The set, along with the amazing lighting of John Pomeroy, costumes by Angela Lampe, and the sound of G. Clausen, come together to make one of the most chilling and cinematic finales I've seen on stage.
While all the technical elements come together beautifully in this show, what makes this show remarkable is the actors on stage. Looking through the list of actors, you see a list of who's who in the Des Moines theatre scene, and each of them does a fantastic job.
For this show to work, you need an exceptional set of actors in the roles of siblings Boy Willie and Bernice. Emmett Saah Phillips Jr returns to the Des Moines Playhouse stage in the role of Boy Willie. He does a fantastic job of bringing humor at the top of the show. We see his range as an actor throughout the show, especially in a moment when a gun comes out on stage.
Another fantastic performance comes from Tiffany Johnson, who the audience is used to seeing as a director for Pyramid Theatre Company's shows. In this production, she returns onstage in the role of Bernice. While we see so many comedic roles in the show, we get a more dramatic character in Bernice. Her Bernice is very set in how she feels about the situations brought up in the show. Tiffany does a fantastic job of building up to the moment her character allows herself to reconnect with the piano and what it symbolizes.
The partnerships built into this show are a great example of what can happen when two theatre companies come together. From the collaboration of Pyramid Theatre Company and Des Moines Playhouse, to the partnership between the director and the production team, to the partnership with the actors, each piece comes together that delivers a powerful performance that audiences will be thinking about long after the final curtain. If this production is the pinnacle of three years of this partnership, I look forward to where his partnership can go. "The Piano Lesson" continues at Des Moines Playhouse through February 19. For more information, visit the link below.
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