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The Piano Lesson Trailer: John David Washington’s Boy Willy Fights To Preserve A Family Heirloom
The Piano Lesson is a thrilling tale of the Black experience during the Great Depression! The drama revolves around the themes of ancestral legacy, family dynamics, and more!
The trailer of the enticing family drama The Piano Lesson gave a glimpse into the lives of the Charles family and the shift in dynamics when opinions clash. In the Netflix adaptation of August Wilson’s eponymous novel, both Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington have reprised their roles from the Broadway revival of the show.
Helmed by Malcolm Washington, it follows the story of the Charles family led by Jackson’s Doaker Charles during the aftermath of the Great Depression in 1936. Their family heirloom—a piano with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor—is a prized possession for some and an opportunity to earn monetary gain for others.
One brother wants to build a family fortune by selling the instrument, while his sister wishes to preserve the family legacy. In the trailer, Washington’s Boy Willie tells his little niece what the piano represents in their family. “That’s your blood,” he tells her.
According to the film’s official synopsis, it will “deal with themes of family legacy and more in deciding what to do with an heirloom, the family piano.”
Washington first portrayed the role of Doaker Charles’s nephew, Boy Willie, in the 1987 stage production of the story. Ray Fisher Michael Potts had also appeared alongside Washington and Jackson in the stage production, directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson.
The play created history by being the highest-grossing revival on Broadway and the highest-grossing Wilson production on Broadway. The cast is rounded off with many other exceptional artists, including Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith, Jerrika Hinton, and Gail Bean, with Danielle Deadwyler and Corey Hawkins.
Oscar winner Denzel Washington and Oscar nominee Todd Black serve as producers on the film. Jennifer Roth, Constanza Romero Wilson and Katia Washington are attached to the project as executive producers.
The play is part of Wilson’s American Century Cycle, a compilation of ten plays about the Black Experience in the 20th Century. Plays including Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom are part of the compilation and have been adapted into a screenplay by Denzel Washington.
The Piano Lesson will premiere in select theaters on November 9 and stream on Netflix starting November 22.
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