"You Can't Tell the Story of America Without a Theft": Malcolm Washington on The Piano Lesson

Set in 1936, The Piano Lesson--the fourth chronological entry in playwright August Wilson's ten-play Century Cycle--is both a family drama and a ghost story. The titular musical instrument sits in the living room of Doaker Charles (Samuel L. Jackson), who lives in Pittsburgh’s Hill District with his adult niece Berniece (Danielle Deadwyler) and her young daughter Maretha (Skylar Aleece Smith). As the story opens, Berniece's brother Boy Willie (John David Washington) and his friend Lymon (Ray F...