Milwaukee Rep’s Masterful ‘Piano Lesson’

August Wilson’s Great Depression-set play is a joy to watch as its characters balance kindness, comedy and painful memories of the past.

by

Theater

It’s Pittsburgh,1936, the Great Depression. In the house of Doaker Charles sits an upright piano in the parlor, 137 years old. And it literally carries a storied past; one carved with the images and faces of the family’s enslaved ancestors. It’s a constant reminder of the life and death struggles that lie at the center of the Milwaukee Rep’s excellent production of The Piano Lesson by August Wilson. 

Wilson wrote The Piano Lesson as the fourth play in his 10-play Pittsburgh Cycle (or Century Cycle), with each play set in a different decade. What unites the works is the focus on the 20th century African-American experience, searching for identity, dealing with systemic racism, and for the Charles family confronting their heritage in the form of a treasured family heirloom—the piano. 

Doaker lives with his niece, Berniece and her young daughter, Maretha. When Berniece’s headstrong brother, Boy Willie, arrives from Mississippi, the inevitable family fight ensues; Boy Willie wants to sell the piano and use the money to buy land that their family once worked as slaves. Berniece is adamant they keep the piano, although he never plays it given the painful memories surrounding it.  Yet, she has her daughter take piano lessons, just as their mother made a young Berniece learn to play. 

Masterful Storyteller

Wilson is a masterful storyteller and eloquent writer. And director Lou Bellamy gives this production such a realistic yet lyrical staging that even the supernatural elements appear “natural” and integral to the storyline. 

Any effort by Boy Willie and his friend Lymon to take the piano conjures a menacing, threatening “presence.” Add to that the sighting of a “ghost” in the house given the recent death of a landowner whose family once enslaved the Charles’ ancestors and The Piano Lesson takes on an even more mysterious tone, all leading to and from ... the piano.

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The cast of nine is remarkable in the ways they fully inform and inhabit their characters, Wilson’s impeccable dialogue literally sings at times. As the head of household, James Craven gives Doaker Charles the steady, calm presence needed to mediate the literal tug of war over the piano. As the two warring siblings, Nubia Monks makes Berniece a fiery yet vulnerable counterpart to James T. Alfred’s Boy Willie, a brash upstart whose determination to get what he wants—no matter the consequences—sets the stage with a highly dramatic buildup to the final “battle.”

La’Tevin Alexander’s Lymon is just the right balance of kindness and innocence while Anthony Irons casts a gentle, caring calmness as pastor Avery. As Doaker’s brother. Wining Boy, Lester Purry brings an added dose of comic relief with his smooth-talking, ever so slick moves.  A joy to watch.

The Charles family comes to learn that to move on from the past, they must confront it rather than escape it. And by doing so, they “free” themselves of the painful memories that haunt them. In The Piano Lesson, it is a lesson well-learned—for all of us. 

The Piano Lesson runs through March 22 in the Checota Powerhouse Theater. Run time: approximately three hours, 20 minutes with one intermission. Recommended for ages 16 and up. This production is a co-production with Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Please Note: characters use adult language, including frequent use of the N-word. For more information, call the Rep Box Office: 414-224-1761,  or visit milwaukeerep.com