AUGUST WILSON’S THE PIANO LESSON

That piano got so much rage and grief carved in it…
The story’s inside those carvings. You rub your hands
over them and feel the power coming out of them.
~ Doaker

The most interesting character in August Wilson’s (April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) 1987 play, the fourth in The Pittsburgh Cycle series and winner of the 1990 Prize for Drama, is the one that doesn’t say anything but speaks volumes. The piano sits right in front of the living room. It cannot and will not be hidden. It shows detailed carvings of the Charles relatives: great-grandparents and son when they were slaves. The Sutter family were the slaveowners. The faces clearly show the tribulations of what the Charles family has endured.

Set in 1936, friends Boy Willie (the wonderful Kai A. Ealy) and friend Lymon (a great partner-in-crime Evan Lewis Smith) gladly leave Mississippi behind and head back to Boy Willie’s family home in Pittsburgh. Neither his sister Berneice (the wonderful Nija Okoro) or uncle Doaker (Alex Morris rocks) are aware of their arrival until early in the morning. Doaker, a retired cook from the railroad, is the first to greet them and warns Boy Willie to stop making so much noise because Berneice is still sleeping.

Boy Willie, too excited to keep still, wakes up the house which includes Berniece’s 11-year-old daughter Maretha (a very talented Madison Keffer). Berenice, awakened by a nightmare, races downstairs and is stunned to see her brother and company in her home. She says the nightmare was about old Sutter, the patriarch of the Sutter family. Boy Willie and Lymon are ready to sell their enormous amount of watermelons sitting in their over-heated, broken-down truck. The plan is to sell the fruit and that relic piano, make enough money to buy, what Boy Willie calls, a “100 acres of good land.” Both Doaker and Berenice give Boy Willie the side eye as he further explains. “Money can’t buy what that piano cost,” she tells them. “You can’t sell your soul for money. It won’t go that cheap.”

Now, Boy Willie and Lymon have a problem. Boy Willie is determined to get that land and will sell that piano. He figures he will sell his half and if Berneice’s half comes along, that’s not his concern. His selfishness leads to more problems for the Charles family. Coming into the fold is Avery Brown (Jernard Burks kills it). A preacher who’s been unsuccessful with ingratiating himself to Berneice. He, too, is aware that she won’t sell the piano. No matter how hard he puts his heart on the line, she lets him down easily. She’s still in love with the memory of her late husband Crawley. Avery advises,

“You got to put all that behind you, Berniece. … You got can walk over there right now and play that piano … and God will walk over with you.”

Berneice won’t budge and Boy Willie acts quickly. One night, he and Lymon try lifting the piano. Like Berneice, it too, won’t move. Boy Willie sees the sale of the piano will bring an opportunity for a better future; however, Berniece sees it as a family heirloom that tells the story of their family. She doesn’t play the piano because according to Doaker, “Berniece don’t play on that piano cause she scared she gonna wake them spirits.” These are the same spirits that have Berneice rush down the steps when Lymon and Boy Willie arrive. Berneice and Doaker believe Sutter’s ghost is haunting the family. The piano is the only legacy the Charles family has that proves they have survived, persevered and will continue to move forward. The Charles family is living in the past and both Berneice and Doaker are caught in its trap. Boy Willie and Lymon see a way to a better life, but the stubborn past refuses to let go. The piano is key to reach a better future. Berneice wants to maintain the legacy. It’s a tug-of-war between the siblings with Lymon, Avery Brown, Doaker and Maretha, stuck in the middle. Two figures who aren’t a part of the ghost madness are Wining Boy (Gerald C. Rivers is fire), Doaker’s younger brother and Grace (LeShay Tomlinson Boyce needs more stage time), a woman Boy Willie takes to the house after a night of boozing and carousing. Wining Boy absolutely loves to live in his past glory days when he was an in demand musician and skilled gambler. Whenever he loses big, he returns to the Charles home for comfort and re-live the days when he had it all. Grace is caught between Lymon and Boy Willie and chooses the latter for the night. Her not being a part of the Charles madness, spares her on what follows.

Wilson’s portrait of the African American family is as powerful as his other plays. There’s always adversity, history to be remembered no matter how hard some individuals don’t want to and most importantly, the family, or some members come together and somehow move forward. There is no other choice, really. The past has a lot of company and some people need to get out while they can and hope for a better way of life.

DETAILS
WHAT: AUGUST WILSON’S THE PIANO LESSON
WHERE: A NOISE WITHIN
LOCATED: 3352 E Foothill Blvd in Pasadena
WHEN: Thursday and Friday, Nov. 7th and 8th at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, Nov. 9th at 2 p.m and 8 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10th at 2 p.m.
WHY SEE IT: Like y’all need a reason to go experience an August Wilson masterpiece!
RUN TIME: 2 hours 20 minutes with one 15-minute intermission
HOW MUCH: start at $51.50 (including fees). Student tickets start at $20, Pay What You Choose starting at $10 available at the box office beginning at 2 p.m. on the day of the performance. Discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.
RESERVATIONS: Log on to www.anoisewithin.org or call (626) 356-3100