Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, stars of "The Piano Lesson" on Broadway, talk to CBS2's Dana Tyler
NEW YORK -- Thursday night is opening night for "The Piano Lesson."
This is the first revival of August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play that originally opened in 1990.
Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington and Danielle Brooks lead the cast in this new production. They spoke to CBS2's Dana Tyler.
Jackson plays "Doaker," the wise patriarch in "The Piano Lesson," patriarch of his family and its history.
"The characters are genuine and real in a way that's honest for us as a race," Jackson said.
Nephew "Boy Willie," played by Washington, returns to Pittsburgh to sell the heirloom piano to buy land. But his sister and ghosts of the past stand in his way. Washington's best known starring in "BlacKkKlansman," and in the just-out "Amsterdam." But this is the first time on Broadway for the eldest child of Denzel and Pauletta Washington.
"Tell me, what was the draw for you?" Tyler asked.
"The draw was his point of view, his forward thinking in 1936," Washington said. "To me, you know, he's very aware of his, of the history of his family, slavery. He wants to go back down south, it's not like he's trying to move north."
What's happening at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre is grounded in a decades-long family bond between the Washingtons and the Jacksons.
"Denzel and I beat the pavement together here. We did plays together," Jackson said. "To be a part of John David's development as an actor, to get him to that place that we talked about. I said, 'Look, if you can't do it here, you really can't do it.'"
Jackson, now a mega-movie star, was the first "Boy Willie" when the play premiered at the Yale Reperatory Theater in 1987.
"When I read the play, years and years and years ago, I understood that this kind of role on Broadway is the kind of role that projects you to the next place," Jackson said.
Jackson's wife, 2014 Tony-nominated actress LaTanya Richardson, is directing this play. Her first role on Broadway was in 2009 in August Wilson's "Joe Turner's Come and Gone."
"To be able to interpret our helm, to amplify what August Wilson incredible work does, is for me the answer to a dream," Richardson said.
The drama's steadfast sister, Berneice, is played by Tony nominee Brooks.
"There's a lot that she is trying to control and put a lid on and not show, and she can't. She has to share all of the things that she's been holding," Brooks said.
Ray Fisher's Broadway debut has added meaning. He once worked as a bartender in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. He plays the straightforward Lymon.
"What I would really want people to take away from this piece, or at least from my portrayal of Lymon, is his heart. And the idea that this is a person who is looking to make a better life for themselves," Fisher said.
Celebrating this revival is Constanza Romero Wilson, who calls her late husband's highly acclaimed 10 plays the "American Century Cycle."
"August Wilson put the African-American experience on stage. But any story about oppressed people is also a story about the oppressor," Romero Wilson said.
Music is a pivotal in Wilson's storytelling.
"It's an ingenious thing that he does, because there's so much language in August Wilson. And so he breaks it by bringing the blues in or bringing new music, especially in this piece," said Michael Potts, who plays "Whining Boy."
Producer Brian Moreland says the author's work never loses its relevancy.
"We are all in service that Mr. Wilson's words, and those words are so prescient, and they're so present. And so now, you know, who are you? Where are you from? And where are you going?" Moreland said.
This is Moreland's eighth Broadway show in five years. Tyler asked him about inclusivity in the industry.
"It's a big deal. Broadway is changing. We are changing. The world is changing. People are listening. People are leaning in. They're asking hard questions. They are putting their foot down saying no, you know, I'm not going to work with that company if they don't have more diversity within the company. And I have to say it's happening on all levels," Moreland said.
All levels, and it's the most rewarding thing.
"I think people use this phrase all the time, you know, to see yourself, but if you've never had a chance to actually see it, and know what it's like to not see it, then to see it a lot, it's... it's powerful," Moreland said.
"The Piano Lesson" is on stage through Jan. 15 at the Barrymore Theatre.
