‘The Piano Lesson’ starring Samuel L. Jackson sets new Broadway theatre

The August Wilson play will run at the Barrymore Theatre.

The Fall 2022 Broadway revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson will no longer run at the St. James Theatre. The Piano Lesson will now play a 17-week engagement at the Barrymore Theatre, with performances from September 19.

"We are thrilled to have secured this iconic playhouse, which happened to have been one of August Wilson's favorite theaters. The legacy of the Barrymore makes it the ideal space to experience a play all about how we shepherd and look after our ancestral legacies," said producer Brian Anthony Moreland.

August Wilson's The Piano Lesson follows siblings as they decide what to do with a treasured family heirloom: a piano that was hand-carved by an enslaved ancestor. Willie wants to sell the piano and buy the land his ancestors worked on, while Berneice believes keeping the piano is a better way to honor their memory.

The Piano Lesson is one play in August Wilson's Pittsburgh Century Cycle. The Piano Lesson premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre in 1987, starring Samuel L. Jackson as Boy Willie. 35 years later, Samuel L. Jackson will play Doaker Charles in The Piano Lesson on Broadway.

The Piano Lesson cast stars John David Washington as Boy Willie, Danielle Brooks as Berniece, Trai Byers as Avery, Ray Fisher as Lymon, April Matthis as Grace, and Michael Potts as Wining Boy. LaTanya Richardson Jackson directs The Piano Lesson and becomes the first woman to direct an August Wilson play on Broadway.

The show features set design by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Toni-Leslie James, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, and sound design by Scott Lehrer.

The Piano Lesson is at the Barrymore Theatre.

^{Photo credit: The Piano Lesson (Photo courtesy of production)}