After a ten-year hiatus, Samuel L. Jackson will return to Broadway next season in a revival of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning drama The Piano Lesson, which will be directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson, who will be making her Broadway directing debut. The Piano Lesson, starring John David Washington and Danielle Brooks, will open at the St. James Theatre on Monday, September 19.
Richardson Jackson, who was nominated for a Tony for her role in A Raisin In The Sun in 2014, will be the first woman to direct an August Wilson play on Broadway.
August Wilson "committed his life and ability to dramatizing our stories and experiences," said Richardson Jackson, Jackson's wife who most recently acted as Calpurnia in the Broadway version of To Kill A Mockingbird. "In the process, he irrevocably altered what it means to be Black in America." His plays elicited empathy, fostered community, and demonstrated the importance of representation. The Piano Lesson is one of his most enduring, meaningful, and consequential works, and I'm thrilled to be able to bring it to Broadway for the first time since its premiere.
Washington, the son of actor Denzel Washington, has acted in films such as BlacKkKlansman and Tenet, and will next be seen in David O. Russell's Canterbury Glass. Brooks was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in 2015's The Color Purple, and she is most recognized for her appearances on Peacemaker and Orange is the New Black on television.
The Piano Lesson is the fourth piece in Wilson's American Century Cycle, and it premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre in 1987, featuring a 39-year-old Jackson in the part of Boy Willie, which will be portrayed by Washington next season. When the original Broadway show opened three years later, Jackson was an understudy in the part. (In 2011, he played Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Broadway production of The Mountaintop.)
Brian Anthony Moreland (Thoughts of a Colored Man), Sonia Friedman (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), and Tom Kirdahy will produce the revival (Hadestown).
"We are humbled and honored to bring Mr. Wilson's work to the Broadway stage under the inspirational LaTanya Richardson Jackson," the producers stated in a joint statement. The Piano Lesson is still contributing to the ever-evolving discourse about family heritage after more than 30 years. This production is returning to Broadway at a pivotal moment in our industry's recovery - and who better to assist us than Mr. Wilson?
A Piano Lesson is a 1936 film set in Pittsburgh's Hill District that follows a brother and sister who are "engaged in a struggle for the fate of a family heirloom: a piano carved with the portraits of their forefathers and mothers." Only by going back in time can the siblings hope to move forward." Doaker Charles will be played by Jackson, with Boy Willie played by Washington and Berniece played by Brooks.
"Jujamcyn Theaters began a deep and meaningful association with August Wilson when The Piano Lesson first opened on Broadway over 30 years ago, so we are especially grateful to be part of welcoming it home once again," said Jordan Roth, President of Jujamcyn Theaters, owner and operator of the St. James.
