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A review by bwguinig
The Piano Lesson by August Wilson
5.0
August Wilson is having his moment. Sadly, it's come some ten-plus years after his passing. But when you have Toni Morrison writing the forward for your work(s), well, a person stands up and takes notice.
The Piano Lesson falls in the 1930's as part of August Wilson's larger Pittsburgh Cycle (or Century Cycle). Fences (1950's) has garnered competitive film award attention. I recently attended a performance of Jitney (1970's).
What I marveled at while reading was the manner in which the material stands both as a period piece while remaining timeless. The struggles and interactions capture a snippet of these characters lives, but they feel and appear wholly fleshed out.
Of course, as a play, there's that strange place of reading -- I focus much more on the text at perhaps the cost of losing some of the energy and pace if seeing a performance on stage. At the same time, there was still that rush upon reaching the final scene and even still, my heart races.
I'm somewhat embarrassed that I have not read/seen all of the plays in the cycle, but the task has quickly become a literary goal of 2017.
The Piano Lesson falls in the 1930's as part of August Wilson's larger Pittsburgh Cycle (or Century Cycle). Fences (1950's) has garnered competitive film award attention. I recently attended a performance of Jitney (1970's).
What I marveled at while reading was the manner in which the material stands both as a period piece while remaining timeless. The struggles and interactions capture a snippet of these characters lives, but they feel and appear wholly fleshed out.
Of course, as a play, there's that strange place of reading -- I focus much more on the text at perhaps the cost of losing some of the energy and pace if seeing a performance on stage. At the same time, there was still that rush upon reaching the final scene and even still, my heart races.
I'm somewhat embarrassed that I have not read/seen all of the plays in the cycle, but the task has quickly become a literary goal of 2017.