After a successful Broadway run, Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington will reprise their roles in an upcoming film adaptation by August Wilson The piano lesson.
Netflix announced the details of the film on Thursday. The star-studded cast also includes Ray Fisher and Michael Potts who had roles in the recent stage version. They will be joined by Danielle Deadwyler (Until) and Corey Hawkins (Straight outta Compton).
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh in the aftermath of the Great Depression, The piano lesson follows the life of the Charles family and their treasured heirloom piano, which is decorated with designs carved by a slave ancestor.
Written in 1987, the Pulitzer Prize-winning piece is part of Wilson’s 10-piece “American Century Cycle” on the black experience in the 20th century, which also includes Fences And Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Related story: The TV adaptation of “Man on Fire” is coming to Netflix
The film version of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom was released on Netflix in 2021. The film received five Oscar nominations and won two Academy Awards (Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Costume Design).
In 2010, Denzel Washington and Viola Davis starred in August Wilson’s revival Fences on Broadway, with the two Tony Award winners.
In 2016, Washington directed and starred alongside Davis in Paramount Pictures’ film adaptation of Fences, who received 3 Oscar nominations and won Best Supporting Actress for Davis.
The scenic revival of The piano lesson recently concluded its run at the Ethel Barrymore Theater in New York.
According Broadway world. Danielle Brooks and Trai Byers also starred in the revival, which was directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson.
The play debuted at the Yale Repertory Theater in 1987 and starred Samuel L. Jackson as Boy Willie, a role played by John David Washington on Broadway.
The Netflix adaptation was first announced in 2021 and will be produced by Denzel Washington and Todd Black. Malcolm Washington will direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with Virgil Williams.
A TV movie based on the play aired on CBS in 1995 and starred Charles S. Dutton, Alfre Woodard, Carl Gordon, Tommy Hollis, Lou Myers and Courtney B. Vance. It was produced by under the Hallmark Hall of Fame banner.