Broadway's Piano Lesson Revival Will Play the Barrymore Theatre

LaTanya Richardson Jackson's upcoming Broadway revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson will play the Barrymore Theatre, not the St. James as previously announced. The move comes amid speculation that the current tenant at the St. James, Into The Woods, is planning to extend its limited run.

Performances will begin as scheduled on Monday, September 19, for a 17-week run.

As previously announced, the production will star Samuel L. Jackson as Doaker Charles, Danielle Brooks as Berniece, and John David Washington as Boy Willie, alongside Trai Byers as Avery, Ray Fisher as Lymon, April Matthis as Grace, and Michael Potts as Wining Boy. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

The Piano Lesson is the fourth play in August Wilson's American Century Cycle, which premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre in 1987, starring a then-39-year-old Samuel L. Jackson as Boy Willie. The story is set in Pittsburgh's Hill District in 1936. A brother and sister are locked in a war over the fate of a family heirloom: a piano carved with the faces of their ancestors. Only by revisiting history can the siblings endeavor to move forward.

The design team for The Piano Lesson includes Beowulf Boritt (set design), Toni-Leslie James (costume design), Japhy Weideman (lighting design), Scott Lehrer (sound design), Cookie Jordan (wig design), Jeff Sugg (projection), and Jason Michael Webb (music/music direction).