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A masterpiece of American theater

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August Wilson's "Century Cycle" presents the African-American experience in the twentieth century. In my opinion, "The Piano Lesson" is the best of the lot. On its surface, it is a simple play - two siblings have different ideas about what to do with a piano one of them inherited from their father - one wants to keep it in her parlour in Pittsburgh (although she never plays it), the other wants to sell it in order to purchase his own piece of land in Mississippi. Like every masterpiece, however, the closer you look at the conflict, the more complex - and telling of human nature - it becomes. I don't want to spoil the story; I will say, however, that the piano in question (a family heirloom of several generations) has many lessons to teach. Among them, should a family sell their past to secure a future? IS there a future for African-Americans in the south? And perhaps most importantly, how does one live with and deal with the ghosts of one's past? The set is simple, the dialogue terse - almost frugal - but the power behind them and the questions and issues the characters raise make it clear why this play won Wilson a Pulitzer. A recommended read - and a must-see when it is performed.

The Piano Lesson

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Acclaimed playwright, August Wilson, pens The Piano Lesson, a story of a family living in Pittsburgh whose family ancestry traces back to slavery in the South. A piano is the cause of much contention particularly between two characters: Boy Willie and his sister, Berniece. You will find that Wilson was careful not to add too much depth to the other characters in the two act play. A reserved Berniece wants to keep the piano in the family. An over-exuberant Boy Willie insists that the piano be sold to help him purchase land in the South. Family strife is inflamed even more by the fact that the piano is haunted by the original piano owner, Sutter, who paid for the piano with a few of his slaves (similar to the candelabra in the '98 movie, Down in the Delta). For Berniece, the piano, despite being haunted by the past, is steeped in family heritage: "Money can't buy what that piano cost. You can't sell your soul for money." For Boy Willie, well, he's fighting family demons, literally and figuratively: "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." As for the lesson learned, in my opinion, Wilson leaves that open for interpretation. I believe any number of lessons could be found. Wilson brilliantly crafts this play to leave the reader thinking in the end; perhaps that was part of the lesson plan as well. see also DVD The Piano Lesson

you can't sell your soul for money

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Part of Wilson's century long tetra-cycle about African-Americans in Pittsburgh, this play is set in 1937. The effects of slavery are still palpable within the Charles family over 70 years after the Civil War. Berniece Charles (age 35) and her younger brother Boy Willie (30) spar over whether or not to sell their greatest family heirloom: a piano that was traded for their great grandmother and grandfather. Berniece wants to keep the piano, which has the images of long-dead family members carved in it by her great-grandfather. Boy Willie desires to sell the piano so that he can use the money to buy the land their family worked on ages ago down south. As the play moves along, we learn about the history of the Charles family and we watch the current generation debates over the decisions of their forbearers. Wilson won his second Pulitzer for this play in 1990 (which was written in 1987). It's not as good as Fences, his 1985 Pulitzer winner, but it's still a very good play with a number of great lines. Wining Boy on the life of a piano player: "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." (pg. 41) Berniece to Boy Willie about their parents: "You always talking about your daddy but you ain't never stopped to look at what his foolishness cost your mama."

August Wilson's Piano Lesson	Customer Rating:
This play is indeed a classic in African-American literature. Every high school and college student of every race should be encouraged to read and discuss the brilliant family dynamics that the play so skillfully portrays. The text is so well written that the reader has a vivid sense that they are actually watching, rather than reading the play.

Excellent

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August Wilson is the greatest American playwright. Not the greatest living American playwright, but the greatest, period. His best plays stand comparison with the best work of Eugene O'Neill, Arthur Miller, and Tennessee Williams. No American playwright has produced such a consistent body of work, and no American playwright has attempted a cycle with the scope and ambition of his series of plays. Wilson's subject is the Great Migration, the story of the African-Americans who emigrated from the southern states to the cities of the industrial North and their slow construction of satisfactory lives in the difficult and changing world of 20th century America. Wilson has written 10 plays on this subject, one for each decade of the 20th century, amounting to a fictional history of African-Americans in the urban North. This is, however, history from below. Wilson's heroes are garbagemen, short-order cooks, day laborers, self-taught musicians, and street vendors. One of his great gifts is his ability to use common speech in a way that is consistently interesting, frequently eloquent, and often powerful. He gives poetic voice to people usually regarded as inarticulate and invests ordinary struggles with real but not exaggerated significance. The African-Americans of Wilson's plays are a doubly uprooted people. Uprooted initially by the grievous trauma of slavery that sundered their connection with their native traditions, the emigrants fleeing the Jim Crow south and its brutal racism are uprooted also from their homes, families, and the traditions developed in the aftermath of slavery. Wilson's overall story is the reconstruction of African-American identity and family life in the cities of the North over the course of the 20th century. Wilson's plays often feature protagonists whose sense of identity and families have been damaged greatly by the oppressions of racism and the atomizing effects of the industrial economy of the North. Over the course of the cycle, Wilson shows characters re-establishing a sense of connection with their ancestors, even back to Africa, and gradually developing the family ties to sustain them. Wilson repeatedly uses supernatural elements in his work, particularly as a device to advance his theme of the importance of developing a sense of historic connection with ancestors, including those originally abducted from Africa. This could easily be hokey, but his matter of fact use of these elements is very effective. Another recurring theme is the importance of music, particularly the Blues tradition developed by African-American musicians, which he sees as a vital and creative force in African-American life, often carrying truths across generations. Some of the most affecting parts of Wilson's work are his demonstrations of the direct and indirect destructive effects of American racism on family life. Even more powerful are those scenes in which his characters overcome these obstacles to reaffirm family connections. Not all of Wilson's plays are outstanding, but all are at least very good. Readers will differ on their favorites. In my opinion, Joe Turner's Come and Gone, Fences, and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom are outstanding. The rest vary from excellent (The Piano Lession) to the very good. Cumulatively, they are a really impressive achievement. Mention must be made of the fact that Wilson has been aided by outstanding collaborators. Wilson's plays usually go through a series of versions before the final version emerges. Wilson has had the benefit of working with unusually talented directors, notably the gifted Lloyd Richards, who was responsible in large measure for recognizing Wilson's talent. Wilson has benefited also from the existence of a whole generation of remarkably talented African-American actors. These people made it possible for Wilson to realize his vision. We have all been the beneficiaries of the work of Wilson and his collaborators.