The Piano Lesson

The Piano Lesson
Written by	August Wilson
Characters	Doaker Berniece Boy Willie Lymon Avery Wining Boy Maretha Grace
Date premiered	26 November 1987
Place premiered	Yale Repertory Theatre New Haven, Connecticut
Original language	English
Subject	The various members of an African-American family in the 1930s strive to overcome the past.
Genre	Drama
Setting	The living room and kitchen of Doaker Charles's household. Pittsburgh, 1936.

The Piano Lesson is a 1990 play by American playwright August Wilson. The Piano Lesson is the fourth play in Wilson's The Pittsburgh Cycle. Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir[ing] a sense of self-worth by denying one's past". The Piano Lesson received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

A Romare Bearden painting entitled The Piano Lesson inspired Wilson to write a play featuring a strong female character to confront African-American history, paralleling Troy in earlier Fences. However, on finishing his play, Wilson found the ending to stray from the empowered female character as well as from the question regarding self-worth. What The Piano Lesson finally seems to ask is: "What do you do with your legacy, and how do you best put it to use?"

Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the infamous piano. The play focuses on the arguments between a brother and a sister who have different ideas on what to do with the piano they own. The brother, Boy Willie, is a sharecropper who wants to sell the piano to buy the land (Sutter's land) that his ancestors had toiled on as slaves while the sister,

"Ain’t nobody said nothing about who's right and who's wrong. I was just telling the man about the piano. I was telling him why we say Berniece ain’t gonna sell it."

Doaker is also one of the only characters that truly understand Berniece's desire to not sell the piano so that the legacy of their family may remain. He may maintain a neutral view of whether the piano should be kept or sold, but he does prevent Boy Willie from taking the piano and bolting without Berniece's knowledge.

Plot

• Act 1, Scene 1

The Boy Willie and Lymon enter into the Charles household at dawn with a truck full of watermelon they intend to sell. Against his better judgement and Uncle Doaker's insistence, Boy Willie calls awake his sister Berniece, whom he has not seen in three years due to his sentence in the Parchment Prison Farm. Altogether, the family members and Lymon celebrate the drowning of Sutter (the family who owned the Charles family during slavery) in the well. Tired of her brother's stupid actions, Berniece dismisses his words and wishes him to leave the house as soon as possible. To annoy her further, Boy Willie calls upon Maretha, Berniece's daughter, in the middle of the night to stir her from her sleep, causing Berniece to run back up the stairs.

Switching topics, Willie then asks of his Uncle Wining Boy, who has become a wanderer in his middle age looking for the past he seems to want to relive. Lymon then brings up the piano. Willie intends to sell the watermelon and the piano to buy the Sutters' land the Charles family had once toiled upon. Doaker insists that Berniece will not agree to selling the piano and Willie insists that he will convince her.

Seeing Sutter's ghost dressed in a blue suit, Berniece screams at the top of the stairs. Her brother Willie tells her that she is imaging things and that Sutter is looking for the piano to be rid of the Charles household. After Doaker rambles on about his railroad stories, Maretha comes downstairs and Willie asks her to play the piano. She plays the beginning of a few simple tunes and he answers her song with a boogie-woogie. Willie then asks Maretha if she knows the origins of the piano and is surprised to discover she does not. Avery and Berniece reenter the room, and Willie casually asks his sister if she might still have the prospective buyer's name. Finally professing his desire to sell the piano for land, Berniece refuses to listen and walks out.

• Act 1, Scene 2

Wining Boy and Doaker are having a conversation about daily events and they muse over the present and the past. Boy Willie and Lymon enter and claim that they have already bargained with the piano purchaser. Both of Willie's uncles warn Willie that the white man Sutter is cheating him and that he should be more careful. Seeing himself as equal to the white man, Boy Willie refuses to listen. The story behind Lymon and Boy Willie's term in Parchment Prison Farm is revealed. Lymon and Willie both gather different perspectives from their experiences. Lymon feels that he should flee to the North where he will be better treated, while Willie feels that whites only treat blacks badly if the blacks do not try and stop them. Wining Boy is then asked to play the piano, but instead he gives a short speech regarding his inexistence due to playing piano his whole life and knowing nothing more.

Doaker then tells Lymon the story of what the piano represents, the enriching values that it bestowed on the Charles family. Willie declares that these are stories of the past and that the piano should now be put to good use. Willie and Lymon attempt to move the piano to test its weight. As soon as they try to move it, Sutter's ghost is heard. Berniece commands Willie to stop and informs him that he is selling his soul for money. Willie refutes her, Berniece blames Crawley's death on Willie, and the two engage in a fight. Upstairs, Maretha is confronted by the ghosts, and she screams.

• Act 2, Scene 1

Doaker and Wining Boy are again together in the house alone. Doaker confesses that he saw Sutter's ghost playing the piano and feels that Berniece should discard the piano so as to prevent spirits from traumatizing the Charles family. Wining Boy disagrees. Lymon and Willie walk into the room after a watermelon sale. Wining Boy sells his suit and shoes to Lymon, promising its swooning affects on woman. Both Lymon and Willie leave the house in hot pursuit of women.

• Act 2, Scene 2

Later that day as Berniece is preparing for her bath, Avery enters and proposes that Berniece should open up and let go. He tells her that she cannot continue to live her life with Crawley's memory shut inside her. Berniece changes the topic and asks Avery to bless the house, hoping to destroy the spirit of the Sutter ghost. Avery then brings up the piano and tells Berniece she should learn to not be afraid of her family's spirits and play it again. Berniece breaks down her story of her mother's tears and blood mingled with her father's soul on the piano and refuses to open her wounds for everyone to see.

• Act 2, Scenes 3–5

Boy Willie enters the Charles house with Grace and begins to fool around on the couch. Berniece orders them out and opens the door to see Lymon. Lymon is upset over his inability to woo women and begins to talk about women's virtues to Berniece. The two kiss, breaking Berniece's discomfort over Crawley's death, and Berniece heads back upstairs.

The next morning, Lymon and Willie try to move the piano out and are stopped by Uncle Doaker. Willie, frustrated, demands that he will sell the piano no matter what. The day to move the piano draws closer. Excited to sell the piano, Willie quickly partakes on his actions without a care of his sister's words. Berniece appears with Crawley's gun, leading Doaker and Avery to urge them to talk it through first. Sutter's presence as a ghost is suddenly revived. Avery attempts to drive the ghost away with his blessings but is not successful. Suddenly, Berniece knows that she must play the piano again as a plea to her ancestors. Finally, the house is led to a calm aura, and Willie leaves.

Characters

Boy Willie: Berniece's impulsive 30-year-old brother represents the lack of accepting one's past. A sharecropper and recently delivered out of prison from Mississippi, Boy Willie plans to sell the piano and use the earnings to buy the land where his ancestors had formerly toiled. His use of the legacy comes down to practicality; Willie finds the rich culture of his history engraved on the piano through pictures, blood, and tears to be a simple conversion to money. Rather than looking upon his past and accepting it, Boy Willie finds the constant need to prove himself as equal to the white man.

"If my daddy had seen where he could have traded that piano in for some land of his own, it wouldn’t be sitting up here now. He spent his whole life farming on somebody else's land. I ain’t gonna do that. See, he couldn’t do no better. When he come along he ain’t had nothing he could build on. His daddy ain’t had nothing to give him. The only thing my daddy had to give me was that piano. And he died over giving me that. I ain’t gonna let it sit up there and rot without trying to do something with it."

Unable to understand the importance of keeping one's legacy around one to understand and grow from it, Boy Willie only concerns himself with labels and capital. In the last scene of the book, after Berniece calls to the ancestors, Boy Willie finally understands that there is no escape from living his ancestral legacy and the only way to benefit from it is to learn from it.

Lymon: Lymon is the 29-year-old friend of Boy Willie and is much more secretive and shy in comparison, however, upon becoming more comfortable with the family, his attitude changes to be a sympathizer who doesn't offer many original opinions. He does not speak brashly and attempts to escape the law by staying in the North and starting a new life.

"Yeah, I can see why you say that now. I told Boy Wilie he ought to stay up here with me."

One of the few characters in this play not related to the members of the Charles household, Lymon offers help and sporadic advice to the other characters. He listens to Doaker's version of the piano story, sympathizes with Boy Willie's desires to sell the piano, and attempts to understand Berniece's connection to the piano. Lymon is also obsessed with women and plays a large role in allowing Berniece to slowly relieve the mourning of Crawley, her deceased husband.

"I just dream about woman. Can’t never seem to find the right one."

His desire to please women and find his soul mate softens Berniece's gaze on crude men and gives him a slight leeway to kiss her.

Berniece: The 35-year-old mother of Maretha, Berniece symbolizes the guardian of her ancestors' past. She remains the only member of the family to adamantly demand the keepsake of the piano heirloom. Her relation with her brother further portrays her mourning of her late husband Crawley. Blaming Boy Willie for Crawley's death, Berniece questions Boy Willie's foolish actions more than others. While Boy Willie represents an opposing figure to their father Boy Charles by wanting to be a property owning man, Berniece draws similarities to her mother Mama Ola who never seemed to recover from the mourning of her husband either.

"Look at this piano. Look at it. Mama Ola polished this piano with her tears for seventeen years. For seventeen years she rubbed on it till her hands bled. Then she rubbed the blood in…mixed it up with the rest of the blood on it. Every day that God breathed life into her body she rubbed and cleaned and polished and prayed over it. ‘Play something for me, Berniece. Play something for me, Berniece.’ Every day… You always talking about your daddy but you ain’t never stopped to look at what his foolishness cost your mamma."

Berniece feels as if the piano should stay in the home rather be sold and it is a family heirloom. The piano is in her residence and was the one who was led to the piano first. She did not feel the need to rearrange her ancestors' past and instead embraced it. To Berniece, the piano represents her father's life, since he died over it, and her mother's toil, since she incessantly asked Berniece to play after his death. Originally playing the role of the messenger between the dead ancestors and the living descendants, Berniece prefers to stop channeling her family's ghosts after her mother's death. Since she does not want to disturb the spirits in the piano, Berniece leaves the piano untouched and does not play it.

"I told you I don’t play on that piano…When my mama died I shut the top on that piano and I ain’t never opened it since. I was only playing it for her. When my daddy died seem like all her life went into that piano. She used to have me play on it…say when I played it she could hear my daddy talking to her. I used to think them pictures come alive and walked through the house. Sometime late at night I could hear my mama talking to them. I said that wasn’t gonna happen to me I don’t play that piano ‘cause I don’t want to wake them spirits. They never be walking around in this house."

To save her daughter from the burdens that Berniece had to endure from playing the piano and helping her mother go through the pain and misery of losing her husband, Berniece refuses to let the spirits of her ancestors come back into her life. However in the last scene, Berniece finally resumes her role as the middle person between the living and dead. In this last scene, Berniece plays the piano again and fulfills her duty to her family's legacy.

Maretha: The 11-year-old daughter of Berniece, Maretha plays the role of the future generation for the Charles family. Although Berniece teaches her how to play the piano, she does not allow any history of the piano become apparent to Maretha.

"Maretha…don’t know nothing about it…She don’t have to carry all of that with her. She got a chance I didn’t have. I ain’t gonna burden her with that piano." ."

Maretha's encounters with ghosts are approached without Berniece's liking. Maretha also allows experimentation among the future progeny of the Charles family, leading observations regarding the best way to pass down family history.

Avery Brown: A 38-year-old preacher who has been attempting to court Berniece ever since the death of Crawley, Avery Brown is a man of honest and good intentions. Constantly stressing his Christian view on things and advocating his hopes to build a congregation, Avery is aware that Berniece will never sell her piano heirloom. Also not related to the Charles family, Avery often offers advice to Berniece in an effort to help her let go of the fears of her past and the lingering mourning of her husband.

"You got to put all that behind you, Berniece. That's the same thing like Crawley. Everybody got stones in their passway. You got to step over them or walk around them. You picking them up and carrying them with you. All you got to do is set them down by the side of the road. You ain’t got to carry them with you. You can walk over there right now and play that piano…and God will walk over there with you."

Avery's humble personality further emphasizes Berniece's lack of relieving her deceased husband's memory. He tries desperately to help her find her path and supports her through her pain. In the final scene, Avery's blessings on the house help bring Berniece back to her position of communicating between the living and the deceased.

Wining Boy: The comical figure in The Piano Lesson, the Wining Boy is the 56-year-old elder brother of Doaker Charles. He tries to portray the image of a successful musician and gambler, but his music and attire are extremely dated. Instead of wanting to live in the present and the future like his nephew Boy Willie, Wining Boy drowns himself in the sorrows of his past. Whenever he ends up bankrupt, he wanders back into the Charles house to retell the days of the glory and fame.

"I give that piano up. That was the best thing that ever happened to me, getting rid of that piano…Now, the first three or four years of that is fun. You can't get enough whiskey and you can’t get enough women and you don’t never get tired of playing that piano. But that only last so long. You look up one day and you hate the whiskey, and you hate the women, and you hate the piano. But that's all you got. You can’t do nothing else. All you know how do is play the piano. Now, who am I? Am I me? Or am I the piano player?"

His former days of glory emphasize the submergence of his soul in the past. Wining Boy is also the only other character, aside from Berniece, who can speak with the dead. He speaks to the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog and to his deceased wife, Cleotha.

Grace: One of the last figures to be added to the play, Grace shows the desires of both Boy Willie and Lymon. Both men attempt to be with her and play to her good graces. Since she is not a member of the Charles family, the tension she feels in the last scene of Act Two demonstrates how strong the presence of the ancestral ghosts are in the Charles household.

Mentioned characters

• Crawley: Berniece's deceased husband of three years
• Mama Ola: Berniece and Boy Willie's mother
• Boy Charles: Berniece and Boy Willie's father
• Sutter's Ghost: The man who owned the Charles family in the time of slavery
• Cleotha: Wining Boy's deceased wife

Cast and crew

First production

Cast

• Doaker: Carl Gordon
• Boy Willie: Samuel L. Jackson
• Lymon: Rocky Carroll
• Berniece: Starletta DuPois
• Maretha: Chenee Johnson/Ylonda Powell
• Avery: Tommy Hollis
• Wining Boy: Lou Myers
• Grace: Sharon Washington

Crew

• Director: Lloyd Richards
• Set Designer: E. David Cosier, Jr.
• Costume Designer: Constanza Romero
• Lighting Designer: Christopher Akerlind
• Sound Designer: J. Scott Servheen
• Musical Director: Dwight Andrews
• Production Stage Manager: Maureen F. Gibson
• Stage Manager: Gwendolyn M. Gilliam

Second production

• Opened: 9 January 1988
• Location: Huntington Theatre Company in Boston (Yale Repertory Theatre production)

Cast

• Doaker: Carl Gordon
• Boy Willie: Charles S. Dutton
• Lymon: Rocky Carroll
• Berniece: Starletta DuPois
• Maretha: Jaye Skinner
• Avery: Tommy Hollis
• Wining Boy: Lou Myers
• Grace: Sharon Washington

• Producing Director: Peter Altman
• Managing Director: Michael Maso
• Director: Lloyd Richards
• Set Designer: E. David Cosier, Jr.
• Costume Designer: Constanza Romero
• Lighting designer: Christopher Akerlind
• Sound Designer: J. Scott Servheen
• Musical Director: Dwight Andrews
• Stage Manager: Gwendolyn M. Gilliam

Third production

• Opened: 16 April 1990
• Location: Walter Kerr Theatre on Broadway, New York City

Cast

• Doaker: Carl Gordon
• Boy Willie: Charles S. Dutton
• Lymon: Rocky Carroll
• Berniece: S. Epatha Merkerson
• Maretha: Apryl R. Foster
• Avery: Tommy Hollis
• Wining Boy: Lou Myers
• Grace: Lisa Gay Hamilton

• Director: Lloyd Richards
• Set Designer: E. David Cosier, Jr.
• Costume Designer: Constanza Romero
• Lighting designer: Christopher Akerlind
• Sound Designer: G. Thomas Clark
• Musical Director: Dwight Andrews
• Production Stage Manager: Karen L. Carpenter
• Stage Manager: Russell Johnson

Film adaptation

Hallmark teleplay VHS cover

A Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie entitled The Piano Lesson aired on CBS on February 5, 1995, starring Charles S. Dutton and Alfre Woodard. It was also directed by Lloyd Richards.

Cast

• Boy Willie: Charles S. Dutton
• Berniece Charles: Alfre Woodard
• Doaker: Carl Gordon
• Avery: Tommy Hollis
• Wining Boy: Lou Myers
• Lymon: Courtney B. Vance
• Maretha: Zelda Harris
• Grace: Rosalyn Coleman
• Ace: Tommy Lafitteá
• Miss Ophelia: Lynne Innerst
• Papa Willie Boy: Harold Surratt
• Mama Berniece: Elva Branson
• Sutter: Tim Hartman
• Watermelon Man: Ben Tatar
• Watermelon Lady: Alice Eisner

Awards and nominations

Awards

• 1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play
• 1990 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play
• 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama
• 1995 Peabody Award

Nominations

• 1990 Tony Award for Best Play
• 1995 Emmy Award Outstanding Made for Television Movie
• 1996 Emmy Award Outstanding Television Movie or Mini-Series

Bibliography

• Bryer, Jackson R., and Mary C. Hartig. Conversations with August Wilson. Jackson: University of Mississippi, 2006.
• Wilson, August. The Piano Lesson. New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2007.
• Wilson, August (1990). The Piano Lesson. New York: Plume. ISBN 0-452-26534-7.

External links

• ​The Piano Lesson​ at the Internet Broadway Database
• The Piano Lesson at IMDb