Samuel L. Jackson helps bring 'The Piano Lesson' back to Broadway

Record ID: 1689240

  • Title: Samuel L. Jackson helps bring 'The Piano Lesson' back to Broadway
  • Date: 15th September 2022
  • Summary: NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 7, 2022) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** DIRECTOR LATANYA RICHARDSON JACKSON, ACTORS SAMUEL L. JACKSON, DANIELLE BROOKS, JOHN DAVID WASHINGTON, AND AUGUST WILSON’S WIDOW CONSTANZA ROMERO AT PRESS CONFERENCE (LEFT TO RIGHT) (NOT A SOUNDBITE) DIRECTOR LATANYA RICHARDSON JACKSON, ACTORS SAMUEL L. JACKSON AT PRESS CONFERENCE (NOT A SOUNDBITE) (SOUNDBITE) (English) ACTOR, SAMUEL L. JACKSON, SAYING: “I had the opportunity to create Boy Willie at Yale. And became very attached to it, probably a little too much. So, by the time the play traveled and came back to Broadway and I was an understudy, I was pretty much devastated that I wasn't going to make my Broadway debut. Drowning myself in a drug-fueled kind of craziness and ended up in rehab, which, you know, started a whole ‘nother journey for me. So it's, kind of interesting to come back in this way.” SAMUEL L. JACKSON POSING FOR PICTURES
  • Embargoed: 29th September 2022 16:34
  • Keywords: august wilson broadway play samuel l jackson stage the piano lesson theater
  • Location: VARIOUS
  • City: VARIOUS
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Theatre,United States
  • Reuters ID: LVA001543915092022RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson” is making a return to Broadway with theater veterans and newcomers.
    The all-star cast, which includes Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Brooks, and John David Washington will be directed by Samuel’s wife, Latanya Richardson Jackson.
    The play, set in 1936, tells the story of a brother and sister who are battling over what to do with a piano that is adorned with the images of their descendants.
    For Richardson Jackson, who is making her Broadway directing debut, this is a ghost story.
    “I'm the first woman to direct August's (Wilson) work on Broadway. And I think that the men have shied away or they wanted to make this such a metaphor. And I'm like, oh, no, I'm telling a ghost story.”
    Samuel is returning to the work after first playing Boy Willie when Wilson brought the play to Yale.
    “By the time the play traveled and came back to Broadway and I was an understudy, I was pretty much devastated that I wasn't going to make my Broadway debut. Drowning myself in a drug-fueled kind of craziness and ended up in rehab, which, you know, started a whole ‘nother journey for me. So it's, kind of interesting to come back in this way.”
    John David Washington will be making his Broadway debut in the role of Boy Willie and said he is dealing with a lot of different feelings.
    “I'm extremely excited to walk that stage and present this play the best, the best way I can.”
    The show begins previews on September 19.
    (Production: Andrew Hofstetter, Alicia Powell)
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