A film adaptation of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson has been set at Netflix, with Malcolm Washington making his feature directorial debut with the project and he’s set to direct his brother, John David Washington.
John David is reprising his role from the recent Broadway revival in this film adaptation. Also reprising their roles in the film from the revival are Samuel L. Jackson and Ray Fisher.
Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Potts and Corey Hawkins will also star in the Netflix film.
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John David and Malcolm’s father, Denzel Washington, will produce the film alongside Todd Black. The screenplay is from Malcolm Washington and Virgil Williams.
The Piano Lesson is part of Wilson’s 10 play “American Century Cycle” and includes Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Those two films have already received film adaptations, with the latter being a Netflix film.
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Here’s the logline: Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, which is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor.
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The Broadway revival of The Piano Lesson with Jackson and John David Washington recently ended its run at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, playing 27 previews and 124 regular performances. It is the highest-grossing revival of a play on Broadway and the highest-grossing Wilson production on Broadway ever.
The two prior August Wilson film adaptations, Fences in 2016 and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in 2020, were critically acclaimed, receiving multiple Oscar nominations.
