EXTENDED RUN - 12 SHOWS ADDED!
The Piano Lesson by August Wilson
Directed by Lou Bellamy
March 4, 2008; St. Paul, MN: Penumbra Theatre Company, the nation’s preeminent African American theatre, announces the addition of twelve performances of The Piano Lesson due to popular demand. The extension runs through Sunday, March 30, 2008. Details included in quick reference below.
A Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, The Piano Lesson is the story of a family haunted by the living legacy of American slavery. At the center of this play is an old, upright piano, hand carved to depict the family history—an unofficial plantation marriage, birth, funeral, and the removal of two slaves from Mississippi to Georgia. The figures carved in the piano create a keepsake album, a sacred relic, a repository of family lore. The piano now sits in the salon of the Charles home and is very valuable. For Berniece, it holds the spirit of her grandparents, sold away in exchange for it during slavery. For her brother, Boy Willie, it holds the key to his freedom from the burden of sharecropping for a meager wage. The struggle between the siblings over the symbolic and literal value of the piano escalates into a conflict that threatens to tear the family apart.
The stellar ensemble features the talents of Ansa Akyea (Boy Willie), Lerea Carter (Grace), James Craven (Doaker), Natalia Gaston (Maretha), Greta Oglesby (Berniece), T. Mychael Rambo (Avery), Dennis W. Spears (Wining Boy), and Ashford Thomas (Lymon).
Performances run Wednesdays through Sundays, times vary. Details follow on quick reference.
The twelve additional performances of the extended run are:
Wednesday, March 19 at 7:30pm
Thursday, March 20 at 11:00am and 7:30pm
Friday, March 21 & Saturday, March 22 at 8:00pm
Wednesday, March 26 at 10:00am & 7:30pm
Thursday, March 27 at 7:30pm
Friday, March 28 & Saturday, March 29 at 8:00pm
Sunday, March 30 at 2:00 and 7:30pm
Quick Reference
Production:
The Piano Lesson by August Wilson
Director:
Lou Bellamy
Musical Director:
Sanford Moore
Presenter:
The Cargill Foundation
Ensemble:
Ansa Akyea (Boy Willie)
Lerea Carter (Grace)
James Craven (Doaker)
Natalia Gaston (Maretha)
Greta Oglesby (Berniece)
T. Mychael Rambo (Avery)
Dennis W. Spears (Wining Boy)
Ashford Thomas (Lymon)
Design Team:
Malo Adams (Sound Design)
Ken Evans (Scenic Design)
Michelle Habeck (Lighting Design)
Edward Summers (Costume Design)
Dates:
Now through March 30, 2008
Performances:
Wednesdays at 7:30pm
Thursdays at 7:30pm
Fridays at 8:00pm
Saturdays at 8:00pm
Sundays at 2:00pm and 7:30pm
Note: There will be no performances on Easter Sunday, March 23.
