‘The Piano Lesson’ Trailer Sees Siblings John David Washington & Danielle Deadwyler War Over Control Of Prized Heirloom Piano
By Matt Grobar
Netflix on Wednesday debuted the first trailer for The Piano Lesson, its adaptation of the August Wilson play starring John David Washington (BlacKkKlansman), Danielle Deadwyler (Till) and Samuel L. Jackson (The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey), which premieres next month at the Toronto Film Festival.
Marking the feature debut of John David’s brother, Malcolm Washington, the film is set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, watching as a battle brews in the Charles Household. At the center stands a prized heirloom piano tearing two siblings apart. On one side, a brother (Washington) plans to build the family fortune by selling it. On the other, a sister (Deadwyler) will go to any lengths to hold onto the sole vestige of the family’s heritage. Their uncle (Jackson) tries to mediate, but even he can’t hold back the ghosts of the past.
Written by Washington and Virgil Williams, The Piano Lesson also stars Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith, Jerrika Hinton, Gail Bean, Danielle Deadwyler and Corey Hawkins. Denzel Washington and Todd Black produced, with Constanza Romero, Jennifer Roth and Katia Washington serving as exec producers.
Denzel Washington and Black came to produce the pic after mounting adaptations of the plays Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which like The Piano Lesson, are part of Pulitzer winner Wilson’s “American Century Cycle.” Collectively, those films garnered three Oscars from nine nominations. Seeing John David Washington and Jackson reprise their roles from a recent Broadway revival, which brought the latter a Tony Award nomination, The Piano Lesson will look to match the accomplishments of those films as an awards prospect.
Check out the trailer for the film, which has not yet been dated for release, above.