Broadway
Broadway’s The Piano Lesson Finds Meaning, Even When Not Every Note Hits True
Like a ghost standing in the hall, August Wilson’s epic Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Piano Lesson, the fourth of Wilson’s 10-play Pittsburgh Cycle, strides strong onto Broadway’s Ethel Barrymore Theatre stage, filling the air with energy and excitement. It’s one of those plays that I have heard so much about, but never actually seen live and in person. It resonates with legendary magic, aching to be seen and witnessed. And as directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson, the dynamically enlightened piece overflows with flashes of African American folklore and mythology, drawing us in, like a broken down truck of watermelons, with some fine performances that bring weight to the story, but overall stays a bit too long in the driveway, repeating itself over and over until the produce doesn’t register as appetizing as it sounded from the beginning.
Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington in August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson. Photo by Julieta Cervantes.
Set in 1936, The Piano Lesson shines its ambitious light on the Charles family, living their life in the dynamically fractured home of Doaker Charles, played touchingly by the always confident Samuel L. Jackson (Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction“), uncle to Berniece, played gorgeously by the magnificently talented Danielle Brooks (Broadway’s The Color Purple). We see her shifting herself upstairs in the bedroom trying to get some sleep, in a space shared with her 11-year-old daughter Maretha, played in the performance I saw by an appealing Nadia Daniel (who shares the role with Jurnee Swan), but it’s the piano sitting center stage, down in their living room that we begin to pay attention to. The set, designed by Beowulf Boritt (Broadway’s POTUS), and the lighting by Japhy Weideman (Broadway’s Dear Evan Hansen), draws us in with its ghost story formulation, enhancing that energy in a way that I wasn’t prepared for. But when the ghostly apparition of Yellow Dog takes its place on that creaking staircase, the complications of legacy and history make their way in, melting the past and future trauma together in the most unsuspected manner.
The main conflict at the heart of this play is unleashed with the arrival of Berniece’s brother, Boy Willie, played forcibly by John David Washington (Spike Lee’s “BlacKkKlansman“), who has come to coerce his unwilling sister into selling the family heirloom piano. It’s a grand looking piece, one that has been etched with familial history by an enslaved ancestor. It speaks volumes to his sister, Berniece, quietly playing all the harrowing tunes from the spirits of their great-grandparents from the days of their enslavement. She has no mind to sell it, even if she can’t actually sit and play the piano without being overwhelmed with emotion. Boy Willie has other plans, which have nothing to do with holding on to a history he wants to put behind him. He sees selling that heirloom as a way forward, granting him the opportunity to buy some land, Sutter’s land, where his ancestors once toiled as slaves. It would be a new beginning for him and his legacy, but Berniece doesn’t believe the spirits are aligned with Boy Willie. And she is adamant.
Arriving in Pittsburgh early one morning with a bunch of watermelons to sell Boy Willie, with his dim friend Lymon, played to absolute perfection by Ray Fisher (NTYW’s Fetch Clay, Make Man), barge in, waking everyone up, but maybe not to the welcome Boy Willie was expecting. The ghosts of Yellow Dog have also been woken up, it seems, as the reasons for Boy Willie leaving Mississippi are brought forward into the light of the new day ahead. It seems Sutter, the landowner whose family once owned the Charles ancestors has mysteriously died under some very telling ghostly circumstances. Boy Willie blames the legendary ghosts of murdered Black men seeking vengeance, but Berniece only sees guilt in her brother’s eyes.
With flashes and screams of supernatural visitations and hauntings sneaking in between the floorboards, the art of The Piano Lesson feels as mystically powerful as it most likely did when it first appeared back in 1987 at the Yale Repertory Theatre, with a cast that included Jackson as Boy Willie, before making its Broadway debut at the Walter Kerr Theatre on April 16, 1990, starring Charles S. Dutton. The cast finds meaning, energy, and exceptional amounts of humor within its wound-up vision, enhanced by the solid sound design by Scott Lehrer (Broadway’s The Music Man) and superb ghostly projections by Jeff Sugg (Broadway’s Tina). But it doesn’t hold us as spellbound as one would imagine. The play seems to languish inside it’s repetitive old-school rhythm, repeating itself endlessly around themes that have been unearthed and played with already.
It doesn’t help that Washington, making his Broadway debut in the role Charles L. “Roc” Dutton played in the original production in 1991, doesn’t seem to know how to take us on a journey from one emotional place to another. He acts as if he’s playing the same note on that same piano for the entirety of the play, walking in with the same bombastic volume as he does when he leaves. Much like his father, I might add, who I also find somewhat heavy-handed. The resemblance is uncanny, as is the style of acting that fails to connect to the stage as well as it does in film and television. He needed, possibly, a stronger framework to guide him, rather than director La Tanya Jackson’s straightforward, sometimes haphazard approach. But the rest of the cast, particularly the very electric April Matthis (Soho Rep’s Fairview) as Grace, finds the melody that advances The Piano Lesson all the way to its final chords.
“Ain’t nobody said nothing about who’s right and who’s wrong,” Doaker states. “I was just telling the man about the piano. I was telling him why we say Berniece ain’t gonna sell it.” Knowing the intentional outcome, the vengeful ghosts find their way through, demanding to be heard and engaged with, even if it takes all night. There is tension and some worthy moments, mostly when Brooks takes charge of the room, finding authenticity and clarity in the well-designed costumes by Toni-Leslie James (Broadway’s Paradise Square). But the ending, unfortunately, stifles the focus. The Piano Lesson creaks itself together clumsily in a manner that doesn’t illuminate anything but the unwinnable battle between history and reality. Those last moments pull the legacy apart, taking it into an arena unworthy of the impact it was desperately trying to build for the last three hours. It doesn’t expand the horizon, but leaves us to wander out into the streets wondering why it took so long to unleash the angry ghosts from within. It was worth it, in a way, seeing this conflict play out to the end, but not completely.
The countdown is on and the winners of the 2022/2023 season will be announced in a live televised ceremony on Sunday, June 11.
Here is who we think will win and who should.
Best Scenic Design of a Play
The Nominees
Miriam Buether, Prima Facie
Tim Hatley & Andrzej Goulding, Life of Pi
Rachel Hauck, Good Night, Oscar
Richard Hudson, Leopoldstadt
Dane Laffrey & Lucy Mackinnon, A Christmas Carol
Most if the technical awards will and should go to this amazing visual production
Will win: Tim Hatley & Andrzej Goulding
Should win: Tim Hatley & Andrzej Goulding
Best Scenic Design of a Musical
The Nominees
Beowulf Boritt, New York, New York
Mimi Lien, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Michael Yeargan & 59 Productions, Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Scott Pask, Shucked
Scott Pask, Some Like It Hot
The theatre community is going to want to honor New York, New York in some way, but it is Sweeney Todd that has our vote.
Will win: Beowulf Boritt
Should win:Mimi Lien
Cast of Broadway’s ‘Ain’t No Mo’ Photo by Joan Marcus
Best Costume Design of a Play
The Nominees
Tim Hatley, Nick Barnes & Finn Caldwell, Life of Pi
Dominique Fawn Hill, Fat Ham
Brigitte Reiffenstuel, Leopoldstadt
Emilio Sosa, Ain’t No Mo’
Emilio Sosa, Good Night, Oscar
Emilio Sosa is up for two nominations but will win for Ain’t No Mo’ in order to honor this show.
Will win: Emilio Sosa
Should win:Emilio Sosa
Best Costume Design of a Musical
The Nominees
Gregg Barnes, Some Like It Hot
Susan Hilferty, Parade
Jennifer Moeller, Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Clint Ramos & Sophia Choi, KPOP
Paloma Young, & Juliet
Donna Zakowska, New York, New York
Hands down this is Gregg Barnes. His costumes are spectacular and make you want to go shopping on that set.
Will win: Gregg Barnes
Should win:Gregg Barnes
Best Lighting Design of a Play
The Nominees
Neil Austin, Leopoldstadt
Natasha Chivers, Prima Facie
Jon Clark, A Doll’s House
Bradley King, Fat Ham
Tim Lutkin, Life of Pi
Jen Schriever, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
Ben Stanton, A Christmas Carol
Most if the technical awards will and should go to this amazing visual production
Will win: Tim Lutkin
Should win: Tim Lutkin
Best Lighting Design of a Musical
The Nominees
Ken Billington, New York, New York
Lap Chi Chu, Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Heather Gilbert, Parade
Howard Hudson, & Juliet
Natasha Katz, Some Like It Hot
Natasha Katz, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Natasha Katz is up for two nominations but will win for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street in order to honor this show.
Will win: Natasha Katz
Should win:Natasha Katz
photo credit achristmascarollive.com
Best Sound Design of a Play
The Nominees
Jonathan Deans & Taylor Williams, Ain’t No Mo’
Carolyn Downing, Life of Pi
Joshua D. Reid, A Christmas Carol
Ben & Max Ringham, A Doll’s House
Ben & Max Ringham, Prima Facie
The sound design in this show by Joshua D. Reid was spectacular and made the show.
Will win: Joshua D. Reid
Should win: Joshua D. Reid
Joshua Henry, Gavin Creel Into the Woods Photo credit: Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade
Best Sound Design of a Musical
The Nominees
Kai Harada, New York, New York
John Shivers, Shucked
Scott Lehrer & Alex Neumann, Into the Woods
Gareth Owen, & Juliet
Nevin Steinberg, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Will win: Scott Lehrer & Alex Neumann
Should win:Nevin Steinberg
Broadway
Countdown to The Tony Awards: Who Will and Who Should Win Best Direction of a Musical, Best Choreography and More
The countdown is on and the winners of the 2022/2023 season will be announced in a live televised ceremony on Sunday, June 11.
Here is who we think will win and who should.
Michael Arden
Direction of a Musical
The Nominees
Michael Arden, Parade
Lear deBessonet, Into the Woods
Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot
Jack O’Brien, Shucked
Jessica Stone, Kimberly Akimbo
Parade is another of the theatre communities darlings and it is well deserved. Arden is Tony nominated and never won. Nicholaw has been nominated 6 times as a director, won for Book of Mormon. As much as I think he deserves this award, I just don’t see it happening,
Will win: Michael Arden
Should win: Casey Nicholaw
Casey Nicholaw Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions
Best Choreography
The Nominees
Steven Hoggett, Sweeney Todd
Casey Nicholaw, Some Like It Hot
Susan Stroman, New York, New York
Jennifer Weber, & Juliet
Jennifer Weber, KPOP
There really is no beating Casey Nicholaw’s choreography in this show. It is powerful, joyous, in perfect harmony as they dance and move as one.
Will win: Casey Nicholaw
Should win: Casey Nicholaw
Outstanding Book of a Musical David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo
Best Book of a Musical
The Nominees
David West Read, & Juliet
David Lindsay-Abaire, Kimberly Akimbo
David Thompson and Sharon Washington, New York, New York
Robert Horn, Shucked
Matthew López & Amber Ruffin, Some Like It Hot
The theater community loves Kimberly Akimbo and they love David Lindsay-Abaire. Robert Horn won for Tootsie and now with Shucked, you laugh at his pure and corny entertainment, but this is a tough category this year and even Matthew López & Amber Ruffin for Some Like It Hot deserve the prize.
Will win: David Lindsay-Abaire
Should win: Robert Horn
Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
Best Original Score (Music and/or Lyrics) Written for the Theatre
The Nominees
Tom Kitt (music & lyrics) and Cameron Crowe (lyrics), Almost Famous
Jeanine Tesori (music) and David Lindsay-Abaire (lyrics), Kimberly Akimbo
Helen Park and Max Vernon, KPOP
Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, Shucked
Marc Shaiman (music & lyrics) and Scott Wittman (lyrics), Some Like It Hot
Shaiman and Wittman’s score knocks you over with a feather, while you wish to be bad. They will ride out the storm and kick out those darker shades of blue to Zee Bap to take it up a step!
Will win: Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
Should win: Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman
Best Orchestrations
The Nominees
Bill Sherman and Dominic Fallacaro, & Juliet
John Clancy, Kimberly Akimbo
Jason Howland, Shucked
Charlie Rosen & Bryan Carter, Some Like It Hot
Daryl Waters & Sam Davis, New York, New York
These two make Shaiman and Wittman’s score sound hotter than hot.
Will win: Charlie Rosen & Bryan Carter
Should win: Charlie Rosen & Bryan Carter
Broadway
Theatre News: Doubt: A Parable, Here Lies Love, Prayer for the French Republic, Eisenhower and Hell’s Kitchen
Tyne Daly and Liev Schreiber will star in a revival of Doubt: A Parable on Broadway. The production is to begin performances next February at the American Airlines Theater.
The new production is produced by the Roundabout Theater Company, and will be directed by Scott Ellis, who has been serving as the nonprofit’s interim artistic director since the death of artistic director Todd Haimes in April.
The play, by John Patrick Shanley, is about a nun who suspects a priest has sexually abused a student at a Catholic school. In 2005, the year it first opened on Broadway, it won both the Pulitzer Prize for drama and the Tony Award for best play; it was later adapted into a film and an opera.
Daly, who will play the nun who serves as the school principal, and Schreiber, who will play the parish priest, are both Tony winners. Daly, is known for her role in “Cagney & Lacey”. She won the 1990 Tony Award for her portrayal as Mama Rose in the revival of Gypsy. Schreiber, is the star of Showtime’s “Ray Donovan.” He won a Tony Award in 2005 for a revival of Glengarry Glen Ross.
Doubt is one of three plays to be staged by Roundabout this coming season. The others are I Need That, a new play by Theresa Rebek starring Danny DeVito alongside his daughter, Lucy, and Home, a 1979 revival, directed by Kenny Leon, by Samm-Art Williams.
David Byrne, Fatboy Slim and Here Lies Love are causing controversy with their July Broadway debut. The show’s extensive use of prerecorded music has the American Federation of Musicians’ Local 802, up in arms. The Local’s Broadway musical contract stipulate that productions employ 19 live musicians.
In response to the union’s concerns, Byrne and the show’s PR team released a statement on Instagram to lay out the production’s revolutionary format and genre-bending originality. Here Lies Love is not a traditional Broadway musical. The music is drawn outside of the traditional music genre. The performance of the live vocals to pre-recorded, artificial tracks is paramount to its artistic concept. Production has ripped out the seats in the theater and built a dance floor. There is no longer a proscenium stage. The Broadway Theater has been transformed into a nightclub, with every theatergoer immersed in the experience.
Here Lies Love is on Broadway because Broadway must support boundary-pushing creative work. Broadway is also the venue for a well conceived, high-quality show that highlights the valued traditions of specific cultures whose stories have never been on its stages. Here Lies Love does not believe in artistic gatekeepers. Here Lies Love believes in a Broadway for everyone, where new creative forms push the medium and create new traditions and audiences.
I saw Here Lies Love at The Public and not sure what kind of fast talking this is, but this statement rings false and full of how can we cut the costs while sticking it to the audience.
Photo by Murphymade
Prayer for the French Republic, by Joshua Harmon is coming to Broadway this season.This award-winning Off Broadway production played to rave reviews at The Manhattan Theatre Club. The production was the winner of the 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play. Broadway performances will begin previews on Tuesday, December 19, at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, with an official opening night on Tuesday, January 9, 2024. David Cromer directs.
Off Broadway: Tony winner John Rubinstein starts previews June 13 at St. Clement’s in one-man show Eisenhower.
Alicia Keys’ musical Hell’s Kitchen will run at The Public Theater from October 24 – December 10, starring Shoshana Bean. Inspired by Keys’ own life, the new musical features an original score by the 15-time Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, with a book by Kristoffer Diaz. Hell’s Kitchen will be directed by Michael Greif and choreographed by Camille A. Brown.
Leading the cast will be Maleah Joi Moon as Ali, opposite Bean as Ali’s mother Jersey, with Brandon Victor Dixon as Ali’s father Davis, Chad Carstarphen as Ray, Vanessa Ferguson as Tiny, Crystal Monee Hall as Crystal, Chris Lee as Knuck, Jackie Leon as Jessica, Kecia Lewis as Ali’s piano teacher Miss Liza Jane, Mariand Torres as Maria, and Lamont Walker II as Riq.
Completing the cast are Reid Clarke, Chloe Davis, Nico DeJesus, Timothy L. Edwards, Raechelle Manalo, Sarah Parker, and Niki Saludez, with understudies Badia Farha, Gianna Harris, Onyxx Noel, William Roberson, and Donna Vivino.
The musical is described as a coming-of-age story set in a cramped apartment in the neighborhood of the title near Times Square, where 17-year-old Ali is desperate to get her piece of the New York dream. Ali’s mother is just as determined to protect her daughter from the same mistakes she made. When Ali falls for a talented young drummer, both mother and daughter must face hard truths about race, defiance, and growing up.
The production has set design by Robert Brill, costumes by Dede Ayite, lighting by Natasha Katz, sound by Gareth Owens, and projection design by Peter Nigrini.
The countdown is on and the winners of the 2022/2023 season will be announced in a live televised ceremony on Sunday, June 11.
Here is who we think will win and who should.
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical
The Nominees
Annaleigh Ashford, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Sara Bareilles, Into the Woods
Victoria Clark, Kimberly Akimbo
Lorna Courtney, & Juliet
Micaela Diamond, Parade
This to us is a no brainer … Victoria Clark performance has stood out since she brought Kimberly Akimbo to life off-Broadway in 2021. Though Annaleigh is a terrific performer this is Victoria’s year.
Will Win: Victoria Clark
Should Win: Victoria Clark
Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical
The Nominees
Christian Borle, Some Like It Hot
J. Harrison Ghee, Some Like It Hot
Josh Groban, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Brian d’Arcy James, Into the Woods
Ben Platt, Parade
Colton Ryan, New York, New York
This is another no brainer J. Harrison Ghee gives a textured layered performance. Ben Platt and Josh Groban cancel each other out, though both are riveting performances.
Will win: J. Harrison Ghee
Should win: J. Harrison Ghee
Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical
The Nominees
Julia Lester, Into the Woods
Ruthie Ann Miles, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Bonnie Milligan, Kimberly Akimbo
NaTasha Yvette Williams, Some Like It Hot
Betsy Wolfe, & Juliet
Bonnie Milligan took the theatre community by storm in Head Over Heels, but it was not her time. This year Milligan commands the stage and you definitely remember her performance.
Will win: Bonnie Milligan
Should win: Bonnie Milligan
Alex Newell photo by Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman)
Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Musical
The Nominees
Kevin Cahoon, Shucked
Justin Cooley, Kimberly Akimbo
Kevin Del Aguila, Some Like It Hot
Jordan Donica, Lerner & Loewe’s Camelot
Alex Newell, Shucked
Many think Alex Newell was snubbed in 2018 for his performance in Once on This Island. Newell gets standing ovations over at Shucked for “Independently Owned” and they are well deserved. Kevin Del Aguila to me was a breath of fresh air and made me love his performance not once, but twice.
Will win: Alex Newell
Should win:Kevin Del Aguila
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