A review by moseslh
The Piano Lesson by August Wilson

5.0

I absolutely loved "The Piano Lesson." I had watched film adaptations of "[b:Fences|539282|Fences (The Century Cycle, #6)|August Wilson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1481833774l/539282._SY75_.jpg|60745]" and "[b:Ma Rainey's Black Bottom|516792|Ma Rainey's Black Bottom|August Wilson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439819148l/516792._SY75_.jpg|504726]," both of which were excellent, but this was my first time reading an August Wilson play. In "The Piano Lesson," a Black family in Pittsburgh is paid a surprise visit by a relative from the South. Their subsequent conflict centers on a beautiful grand piano. Their enslaved grandfather had carved images of their family history into the piano when asked to decorate it by his owner. After abolition, white men killed their father while he was in the process of taking the piano back for his family. The characters debate the symbolic value of the piano versus its financial value, the desire to own their own history versus owning their own land. The legacy of slavery looms large throughout the play, and the debates highlight differing views of what freedom means and how best to pursue it. Some of the best parts are the monologues that occur periodically, anecdotes of family history that illuminate and contextualize the tensions between the characters as well as the continued echoes of slavery that continue to (literally) haunt them. I would highly recommend reading or watching this play to anyone.