Netflix has unveiled the first trailer for Malcolm Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s play The Piano Lesson.
Malcolm Washington, son of Denzel, is making his feature directorial debut with The Piano Lesson, a film adaptation of August Wilson’s play of the same name, which was announced last year. Netflix is backing the project and the streamer has just dropped the very first trailer for the film.
Take a look at The Piano Lesson trailer below.
The Piano Lesson isn’t the first August Wilson adaptation that Netflix has produced. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which hit the streamer in 2021, starred Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman, who was posthumously nominated for an Oscar for his performance. Denzel Washington directed and starred in Paramount Pictures’ adaptation of Fences in 2016 with Viola Davis. The film earned both leads an Oscar nomination with Davis winning for Best Actress.
Here’s a synopsis for The Piano Lesson:
Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, which documents the family history through carvings made by their enslaved ancestor.
“When I read The Piano Lesson, it just stopped me,” director Washington told Vanity Fair. “It was a rare experience where you read a text that just aligns with where you are in your own head, like ‘I have to do something with this now. I have to engage in this text in a meaningful way.’”
The film’s large ensemble cast includes John David Washington (another son of Denzel), Samuel L Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, and Corey Hawkins.
The Piano Lesson doesn’t have an official release date yet. The trailer simply states “In select theatres November”. We’re willing to bet Netflix will push the film hard this upcoming awards season.
More on The Piano Lesson as we hear it.
