Ep. 62 - August Wilson’s Enduring Legacy in THE PIANO LESSON
Skylar Aleece Smith as Maretha in THE PIANO LESSON (2024) based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by August Wilson Photo: Netflix
… a lot of people have scars in August's plays. They are the pain and the painful moments that they have lived. But there's also always a redemption factor in all these people's stories.
Constanza Romero
In episode 62,The Boston Sisters are talking with Constanza Romero about THE PIANO LESSON, the film adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by American playwright August Wilson (1945 - 2005), produced for the screen by Denzel Washington and Todd Black, directed by Malcolm Washington, and streaming on Netflix.
We talk with Constanza Romero about her origin story with THE PIANO LESSON where she met August Wilson for the first time as the play’s costume designer, and her continuing role in preserving August Wilson’s legacy. Constanza Romero also highlights the film's visual storytelling, contrasting it with the stage play, and the themes of legacy, migration, and the American dream that underscore the enduring relevance of Wilson's work.
GUEST
Constanza Romero
Constanza Romero-Wilson is August Wilson's widow, an Executive Producer for THE PIANO LESSON, and the Executive Director of the August Wilson Legacy LLC. She has overseen countless productions of Wilson's ten-play American Century Cycle nationally and abroad. Romero holds an MFA in Design from the Yale School of Drama and lives in Seattle.
“The August Wilson Legacy LLC seeks to preserve and advance Wilson’s universal teachings encompassed in the American Century Cycle by welcoming all audiences and theater artists to this literary legacy which he bestowed upon us. Building on traditional interpretations, we encourage artists to explore his plays with a fresh approach in order to discover deeper levels of meaning for the world of today. We strongly hold Wilson’s words as a path towards social justice, a balm to our racial struggle, a joyful celebration of Black culture, and a crucial instrument in the affirmation of our humanity.”
The American Century Cycle
August Wilson’s 10 plays in the “American Century Cycle” chart the African American experience throughout the 20th century from the 1900s to the 1990s. All the plays are set in August Wilson’s hometown of Pittsburgh except “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” which is set in Chicago. The plays were written from 1982 (“Jitney” set in the 1970s) until the year of August Wilson’s death in 2005 (“Radio Golf” set in the 1990s).
Three plays were adapted for film by Denzel Washington and Todd Black: “Fences” (1950s), “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (1920s), and “The Piano Lesson” (1930s).
Learn more about August Wilson: The August Wilson African American Cultural Center (Pittsburgh) | August Wilson House (Pittsburgh) | PBS AMERICAN MASTERS
SHOP THE PODCAST
August Wilson plays are great reads — we enjoy them on page and stage.
Purchase August Wilson’s “American Century Cycle” plays individually, as a set and other titles related to past podcasts from the MBGLtd affiliate page on bookshop.org. Your book purchases support production of the Historical Drama with The Boston Sisters podcast with a small commission and independent booksellers.
THE PIANO LESSON
Trailer for THE PIANO LESSON (2024)
THE PIANO LESSON is set in Pittsburgh in 1936. A clash between a brother and sister over an heirloom piano is about to explode. In this battle, Boy Willie (John David Washington) comes up from Mississippi with a dream and a plan — sell the piano and purchase land to build the family fortune. His sister Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler) fights to keep the piano, the sole vestige of the family’s history and heritage. Their uncle, Doaker (Samuel L. Jackson), who knows the true story of the piano and how it got from Mississippi to Pittsburgh, tries to keep the siblings from tearing each other apart over the heirloom. But the ghosts of the past will have the final say over the fate of the piano and the family’s future.
THE PIANO LESSON is Malcolm Washington’s first feature directorial debut. The film adaptation is co-written by Washington and Virgil Williams and produced by Denzel Washington and Todd Black. In addition to John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler, and Samuel L. Jackson, the cast includes Ray Fisher (Lyman), Michael Potts (Wining Boy), Erykah Badu (club singer Lucille) and Corey Hawkins (Avery).
THE PIANO LESSON is streaming on Netflix.