If this weren’t time sensitive I probably would have hung onto it a little longer, so as to space out my blog posts a little more evenly. BUT… there are only five days remaining for you to listen online, so I had to get the word out right away.
August Wilson’s inspiration: “The Piano Lesson,” Romare Bearden, 1983. Collage of various papers with paint, ink, and graphite on paper. Copyright Romare Bearden Foundation. Featured in the National Gallery of Art’s exhibition “The Art of Romare Bearden,” 2003-2004.
August Wilson’s (second) Pulitzer Prize-winning play was specially recorded for radio broadcast by the BBC for its BBC3 radio station. It was broadcast on Sunday, November 27, 2011. You can follow this link to listen online for five more days from today.
The play, set in 1930s Pittsburgh, tells the story of the Sutter family (brother Boy Willie and sister Berniece), and their ongoing disagreement over whether to sell their family’s heirloom piano. (Fans of the play will kindly forgive that oversimplified description.) The Piano Lesson features the following cast (virtually all of whom have performed in one or more of Wilson’s plays on Broadway, and a good number having originated their roles on Broadway):
Boy Willie…John Earl Jelks
Berniece…Roslyn Ruff
Doaker…Stephen McKinley Henderson
Lymon…Chris Chalk
Wining Boy…Anthony Chisholm
Grace…Marsha Stephanie Blake
Avery…Leland Gantt
Maretha…Zadshire Dupuis
As all good Peg’s List posts are, this item is related to the Lincoln Center Institute repertory family by way of the following two participants: the play was recorded at Crossroads Theatre Company in New Brunswick, NJ (who produced FLY in the fall of 2009), and the artistic consultant for the project was none other than Ricardo Khan (developer, co-author and director of FLY).
For more Peg’s List posts related to LCI’s production of FLY, follow this link.
Filed under: Theater Tagged: | LCI Theater Rep Artists, Ricardo Khan
