By Selena Kuznikov
THE PIANO LESSON Trailer (2024) Samuel L. Jackson
The trailer for Netflix's adaptation of August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson," starring Samuel L. Jackson and John David Washington, has been revealed. Both Jackson and Washington reprise their roles from the Broadway revival of the show, which ended its run in January 2023.
Directed by Malcolm Washington, the film follows the lives of the Charles family, led by Doaker Charles, (Jackson) in 1936 during the aftermath of the Great Depression. The family’s heirloom piano is adorned with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor. A brother plans to amass a family fortune by selling the instrument and buying the land his family farmed, while his sister tries to keep it to preserve the family history.
John David Washington plays Doaker's nephew Boy Willie, a role Jackson originated in the 1987 stage production. In the trailer, Boy Willie tells his niece that the piano represents her family.