The Washington brothers have teamed up for The Piano Lesson- a film adaptation of an August Wilson classic which holds a very special place in both of their hearts.
“The themes were so powerful. Ideas that I was considering that were going around in my head already, were distilled in a way that I could receive what [August Wilson] was trying to say,” Malcolm, who directed the movie, told BroadwayWorld’s Richard Ridge. “I feel like it was important to pass that on and to see myself as a conduit- taking this story and bringing it to a new audience. That young people like myself could see themselves in it and know that they had access to it.”
John David reprises the role of Boy Willie, which he played in the 2022 Broadway revival. “More or less [I started from scratch] by necessity. It would have been ignorant of me to think ‘Oh, I’ve got it- I’ve done this already. I’ll just bring that over.’ It’s a totally different responsibility.”
Adapted from August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork, The Piano Lesson explores the intergenerational dynamics of identity, resilience and transcendence – revealing startling truths about how we perceive the past and who gets to define our legacy.
The Piano Lesson is now available to stream on Netflix. Watch our full interview with the Washingtons as they chat more about sharing Wilson’s legacy.
