‘The Piano Lesson’ Trailer: Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington Reprise Their Roles in Netflix’s Broadway Play Adaptation

The trailer for Netflix’s adaptation of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson,” starring Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington, has been unveiled. Both Jackson and Washington are reprising their roles from the Broadway revival of the show, which wrapped up its run in Jan. 2023.

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The film, directed by Malcolm Washington, follows the lives of the Charles family, led by Doaker Charles, (Jackson) in 1936 during the aftermath of the Great Depression. The family heirloom piano is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor. One brother plans to build a family fortune by selling the instrument and buying the land his family toiled, while his sister tries to keep it to preserve the family history.

John David Washington plays Doaker’s nephew Boy Willie, a role Jackson himself had originated in the 1987 stage production. The trailer sees Boy Willie telling his niece that the piano represents her family.

“That’s your blood,” Boy Willie tells her. He implores her to ask her mother and his sister about how the carvings were inscribed to the instrument.

Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith, Jerrika Hinton, Gail Bean, with Danielle Deadwyler and Corey Hawkins round out the cast for the drama.

Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington to Star in August Wilson's 'The Piano Lesson' for Netflix

Fisher and Potts appeared alongside Jackson and Washington in the stage production, directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson. “The Piano Lesson” was the highest-grossing revival of a play on Broadway during its run as well as the highest grossing Wilson production on Broadway.

Oscar winner Denzel Washington and Oscar nominee Todd Black serve as producers on the film, with Jennifer Roth, Constanza Romero Wilson and Katia Washington executive producing.

The play is part of Wilson’s 10-title “American Century Cycle,” which also includes “Fences” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” both of which were adapted for the screen by Denzel Washington and Black.

“The Piano Lesson” is set to premiere in select theaters on Nov. 8 and stream on Netflix starting Nov. 22. Watch the trailer below.

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