Interview: Danielle Moné Truitt and THE PIANO LESSON at Two River Theater

Two River Theater kicks off their 2026/2027 Season with August Wilson's The Piano Lesson directed by Francois Battiste. Previews begin September 12 and the production runs through October 4 in the Joan and Robert Rechnitz Theater. This is the 8th August Wilson production Two River Theater has staged, continuing our dedication to staging all ten plays in August Wilson's Century Cycle.

The plot of The Piano Lesson centers around a brother and sister, played by Brandon Micheal Hall and Danielle Moné Truitt. Broadwayworld had the pleasure of interviewing Danielle about her career, the upcoming show and her role as Berniece.

Danielle Moné Truitt is an actor, writer, director, and singer best known for starring as Sgt. Ayanna Bell in NBC’s “Law & Order: Organized Crime” for five seasons. She also starred as the lead in John Singleton’s “Rebel” (BET), with additional television credits including “Deputy” (FOX) and “Snowfall” (FX). In addition to her on-screen work, Danielle served as the video reference performer for Princess Tiana and voiced Georgia in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog. Her theater work includes an NAACP Theatre Award nomination for Best Actress for The Mountaintop at Matrix Theatre Company, as well as an NAACP Theatre Award-nominated production of Dreamgirls at La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts. Danielle also wrote and performed her acclaimed one-woman show, 3: Black Girl Blues. Most recently, she directed Douglas Lyons’ Don’t Touch My Hair at Celebration Arts. Beyond her work as a performer, Danielle is the creator of MONA, a coming-of-age film inspired by her childhood growing up in South Sacramento. She is passionate about telling stories that celebrate the beauty, resilience, joy, and complexity of Black life. 

Your credits are broad and impressive. When did you first become interested in the entertainment industry?

I have been singing and performing since I was a small child, but my desire to become an actor really began in college when I did my first play, The America Play by Suzan-Lori Parks. That experience had a profound impact on me. There was something magical about beginning with a group of people sitting around a table reading words on a page, and then watching those words become a living, breathing thing in front of an audience. It ignited a curiosity in me and a desire to really invest in learning the craft of acting and theatre.

Once I started, I knew there was no going back. And I knew I didn’t only want theatre; I wanted to pursue television and film, too. I wanted it all.

What piece of advice can you lend aspiring actors?

LIVE. Live your life. Life will be your greatest teacher when it comes to acting. The more you face yourself, accept yourself, and love yourself, the more connected you become to the characters you play. The characters are not outside of you. They are mirrors. Your job is to find the places where their humanity meets your own.

On a practical note, this journey is not for the faint of heart. There will be incredible highs and some very difficult lows. Find ways to ground yourself so that your career, or sometimes the lack thereof, doesn’t define who you are. Know who you are outside of what you book, what you don’t book, who calls, and who doesn’t.

And finally, if there is anything else in this world that you can see yourself doing besides acting… do that! Because this career will test how badly you really want it.

How do you like working in NJ at Two River Theater?

Working at Two River Theater has been a beautiful experience. From the first day, it has felt like a space that welcomes creativity, community, and intentionality. There are incredible artists working on this play, from those onstage to the designers and everyone working behind the scenes.

It is such a gift to bring August Wilson’s words to life alongside people who are not only immensely talented, but good people. That makes the experience even more meaningful. I know I won’t walk away from this production simply having learned a new role. I’m going to walk away with my heart and my consciousness expanded, and that is one of the greatest gifts art can give us.

We'd love to know how you have prepared for the role of Berniece in The Piano Lesson.

I think I have prepared for Berniece most deeply by finding myself inside of her. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about where she is in her life, what matters to her, the dreams that seem to have been stripped away, and the ways she hasn’t allowed herself to fully grieve because she has a child to raise on her own and life never stops moving.

Then I turn those questions toward myself. What have I not grieved? In what ways have I protected myself from disappointment? Where have I mistaken protection for strength? That is where Berniece begins to become very personal for me.

I don’t believe we have to manufacture emotions as actors. Sometimes the deeper work is being willing to honestly investigate ourselves and allow the character to reveal the places in us we may not have examined before.

Why do you think August Wilson's beloved play will be so impactful for TRT audiences.

Who doesn’t love a family drama? And there is a lot of drama in this family! But underneath all of that drama are questions I think almost everyone can relate to: What do we inherit from our families? What do we hold onto? What do we let go of? What do we owe the people who came before us, and what do we owe ourselves?

The ideas of tradition, legacy, and progress are constantly pushing against one another in The Piano Lesson. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? The beautiful thing is that August Wilson doesn’t necessarily answer those questions for us.

Wilson wrote about the African American experience with such extraordinary specificity that it becomes universal. Two River Theater’s commitment to producing all ten plays in his American Century Cycle is a wonderful way to honor that legacy while also broadening the stories and experiences audiences have access to on this stage.

Can you tell us a little about the cast and creative team that is bringing the show to the Red Bank stage.

The cast is incredible! The talent in this company is out of this world. J. Bernard, Brian, Keith, and Joshua have already worked at Two River, while Brandon, Elaán, Arden, and I are new to the Two River stage. Some of us have a long history with August Wilson’s work, while others are experiencing his world in this way for the first time. That combination has created such a rich room to work in.

Our director, François, is fantastic. He is incredibly intelligent, collaborative, and visionary. It’s a pleasure to work with him as a director, but it also brings me a lot of joy to watch a longtime friend excel at what he does.

And our creative team is amazing. The costume, scenic, and lighting designs are phenomenal, and I especially love that those departments are women-led! There is so much intention behind the world being created for this production, and I can’t wait for audiences to experience it.

Please share with us any of your future plans.

First, I plan to have an amazing time bringing Berniece to life! I’m excited for all of the discoveries still to come, and I’m especially excited to see how this play moves Two River audiences.

I’m also currently in post-production on my short film, MONA, which I wrote, produced, directed, and acted in. It’s a coming-of-age story set in 1994 about a young Black girl navigating that complicated space between girlhood and womanhood. The film stars Calah Lane, Tony Baker, and me. Shooting it was truly a dream, and I’m looking forward to completing the film and taking it onto the festival circuit.

I also appear in Tyler Perry’s upcoming film Doing Life, which premieres on Netflix October. So there is a lot happening, and I’m incredibly grateful for all of it.

Anything else, absolutely anything you want BWW NJ readers to know.

Come see The Piano Lesson! Even if you’ve seen the play before, I think there is something incredibly special about what we are creating at Two River. And if you’ve never experienced August Wilson’s work, this is a beautiful place to begin. Yes, this is a story about a Black family in Pittsburgh in 1936, but it is also a story about family, love, grief, ambition, legacy, and the things we inherit that cannot be measured in dollars. My hope is that audiences leave thinking about their own families, their own histories, and the things that have been passed down to them.

And hopefully, somewhere in the middle of all of that, we make you laugh, too. Because the Charles family is a mess!

For anyone who wants to follow or support MONA as we move through post-production and toward the festival circuit, I’d love to have you along for the journey. Independent filmmaking really does take a village, and every person who donates, shares the film, or simply helps spread the word becomes part of helping us bring this story into the world.

Find out more by visiting https://my.filmindependent.org/Mona and follow Danielle on Instagram: @DanielleMoneTruitt and @MonaTheFilm

Two River Theater is located at 21 Bridge Street, Red Bank, NJ  07701. Tickets for The Piano Lesson and all the shows in the upcoming season are available by visiting Two River Theater  and by calling 732.345.1400.              .

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Two River Theater


 

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