Netflix's upcoming film adaptation of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson has hit the festival circuit, and the reviews are rolling in!
The film—which features John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Fisher, and Michael Potts reprising their performances from the play's 2022 Broadway revival—releases on the streamer November 22. A limited theatrical release will begin November 8.
Along with Jackson as Doaker Charles, Washington as Boy Willie, Potts as Wining Boy, and Fisher as Lymon, the cast features Erykah Badu as Lucille, Skylar Aleece Smith as Maretha, Jerrika Hinton as Grace, Gail Bean as Dolly, Danielle Deadwyler as Berniece, and Corey Hawkins as Avery. Malcolm Washington makes his directorial debut with the film.
Read the reviews below.
Entertainment Weekly (Maureen Lee Lenker)
The Hollywood Reporter (Lovia Gyarkye)
Telluride Daily Planet (Owen Perkins)
*This review may require creating a free account or a paid subscription.
Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
Set in Pittsburgh's Hill District in 1936, The Piano Lesson follows a brother and sister who are embroiled in a battle over a family heirloom piano carved with the faces of their ancestors. It is the fourth play in Wilson's Century Cycle, which explores the Black experience in every decade of the 20th century; other works in the cycle include Fences, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, and Jitney, among others.
Denzel Washington is producing the new movie, part of his effort to bring film versions of Wilson's entire Century Cycle to the screen. Washington produced, directed, and starred in a 2016 film of Fences, and produced the 2020 film version of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, also for Netflix.
The film features a screenplay by Virgil Williams and Malcolm Washington, adapted from Wilson's Pulitzer-winning play. Along with Washington, the film is produced by Todd Black, and executive produced by Jennifer Roth, Constanza Romero Wilson, and Katie Washington. Michael Gioulakis is director of photography, and David J. Bomba serves as production designer. Editing is by Leslie Jones, and costumes are by Francine Jamison-Tanchuck. Music is by Alexandre Desplat.
The upcoming release will be the second screen version of The Piano Lesson, following a 1995 TV movie that featured Charles S. Dutton, Carl Gordon, Tommy Hollis, and Lou Myers from the play's 1990 original Broadway cast. Original director Lloyd Richards helmed the 1995 film.
John David Washington and Skylar Smith in The Piano Lesson
Samuel L. Jackson in The Piano Lesson
Danielle Deadwyler in The Piano Lesson
John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Potts, and Ray Fisher in The Piano Lesson
Erykah Badu in The Piano Lesson
Danielle Deadwyler in The Piano Lesson
Ray Fisher, Malcolm Washington, and John David Washington on the set of The Piano Lesson
