Running the Palladium means I don’t get out to that many other venues but last Sunday I carved out some time to see The Piano Lesson at American Stage. It’s the latest installment of the August Wilson Cycle – a collection of plays reflecting aspects of African-American life during each decade of the 20th Century.
I’ve loved all of plays in the cycle, but I think this may be the best of the series.
Here’s how American Stage describes the show: It is 1936 and Boy Willie arrives in Pittsburgh from the South in a battered truck loaded with watermelons to sell. He has an opportunity to buy some land down home, but he has to come up with the money right quick. He wants to sell an old piano that has been in his family for generations, but he shares ownership with his sister and it sits in her living room. She has already rejected several offers because the antique piano is covered with incredible carvings detailing the family’s rise from slavery. The issue of whether or not to sell it cuts deeply and raises questions about honoring the past or moving into the future.
The show has humor, some great singing (though this isn’t a musical), and an oddly happy and hopeful ending. The set, the mostly Equity cast, and the direction by Mark Clayton Southers are all first-rate. You don’t to have seen the other plays in the cycle to enjoy this one.
The show runs at American Stage in downtown St. Petersburgh through March 3. Do yourself a favor. Go enjoy The Piano Lesson.
For info vist www.americanstage.org
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