Veteran actor Samuel L Jackson and Tenet star John David Washington are set to lead the Netflix film The Piano Lesson, to be directed by Malcolm Washington.
According to the entertainment website Variety, The Piano Lesson is an on-screen adaptation of August Wilson’s 1987 play of the same name. Jackson and Washington will be reprising their roles from the highly successful Broadway revival of the play, which recently ended its run at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Charles family, a household led by Doaker Charles (Jackson), and an heirloom, the family piano, which is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor. Washington plays Boy Willie, Doaker’s nephew, a role Jackson originated in the 1987 production.
Virgil Williams has adapted the screenplay for the feature film. The cast also features actors Ray Fisher, Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Potts and Corey Hawkins. Fisher and Potts starred alongside Jackson and Washington in the stage production, directed by LaTanya Richardson Jackson.
The Piano Lesson is being produced by Denzel Washington and Todd Black. Executive producers are Constanza Romero, Jennifer Roth and Katia Washington.
