Samuel L. Jackson & John David Washington are set to be cast leads for the feature film adaptation ‘The Piano Lesson’.
Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington are using their Hollywood star power to bring August Wilson’s play The Piano Lesson to Netflix. The Broadway revival of the play, featuring Jackson, Washington and co-star Danielle Brooks, recently concluded its run at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, having played 27 previews and 124 regular performances. The production is the highest grossing revival of a play on Broadway and the highest grossing Wilson production on Broadway ever.
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, which is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor.
The Piano Lesson is part of Wilson’s 10 play “American Century Cycle” and includes Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Starring Viola Davis, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom earned five Oscar nominations and two wins: for best makeup and hairstyling, and best costume design.
The ensemble for the cast include Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction), John David Washington (BlacKKKlansman), Ray Fisher (Zack Snyder’s Justice League), Danielle Deadwyler (Till, The Harder They Fall), Michael Potts (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), and Corey Hawkins (Straight Outta Compton, The Tragedy of Macbeth).