''The Piano Lesson'' is a 2024 American drama film directed by Malcolm Washington, who co-wrote the screenplay with

Virgil Williams Virgil Williams is an American television producer and writer. He began working in television as a writer for '' 24'' and wrote a single episode of the first season in 2002. He was hired as a story editor for ''24'' day 2 in fall 2002. He wrote t ...

. It is an adaptation of the 1987 play by August Wilson. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith,

Danielle Deadwyler Danielle Deadwyler (born May 3, 1982) is an American actress. She began her career appearing on Atlanta stage, notably the 2009 production of ''For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf, For Colored Girls'', and mad ...

, and Corey Hawkins. ''The Piano Lesson'' premiered at the 51st Telluride Film Festival on August 31, 2024, and it was released in select theaters in the United States on November 8, 2024, before streaming on Netflix on November 22.

Premise

Cast

Production

It was announced in April 2023 that Malcolm Washington would make his feature directorial and screenwriting debut with the film, an adaptation of the August Wilson play '' The Piano Lesson'', with his brother John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Ray Fisher,

, Michael Potts, and Corey Hawkins starring. John David Washington, Jackson, Fisher and Potts reprise their roles from the 2022 stage production of the play. Washington's father, Denzel, is producing the film with Todd Black. In May, singer Erykah Badu was announced to be making a cameo appearance in the film. Gail Bean,

Jerrika Hinton Jerrika Hinton is an American actress, best known for her role as Stephanie Edwards in the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy''. Early life Hinton was born and raised in Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas, the daughter of Cynthia, a retired gove ...

Stephan James Stephan James may refer to either: * Stephan James (actor) (born 1993), Canadian actor * Stephan James (athlete) (born 1993), Guyanese athlete {{Hndis, James, Stephan ...

, Malik J. Ali, Jay Peterson and Matrell Smith rounded out the cast in June 2023. Filming began in Atlanta in April 2023. The Pittsburgh Film Office expressed disappointment that the production would not be filming in the city like previous Wilson adaptations.

Release

The film's world premiere took place at the Telluride Film Festival, prior to its international premiere as a special presentation at the

2024 Toronto International Film Festival The 49th annual Toronto International Film Festival will be held from September 5 to 15, 2024. The festival is slated to open with David Gordon Green's film '' Nutcrackers'', and close with Rebel Wilson's directorial debut film '' The Deb''.Etan ...

. ''The Piano Lesson'' was released in select theaters in the United States on November 8, 2024, before streaming on Netflix on November 22.

Reception

Critical response

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Piano Lesson, The 2024 directorial debut films 2024 drama films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films African-American drama films American films based on plays Films about pianos and pianists Films produced by Denzel Washington Films scored by Alexandre Desplat Films set in 1936 Films set in Pittsburgh Films shot in Atlanta Great Depression films Upcoming Netflix original films