Jubilee Theater Previews THE PIANO LESSON 3/20

Jubilee Theatre continues its celebration of African-American culture with its 2008-2009 season and August Wilson's The Piano Lesson. An American icon, August Wilson depicted the human condition like no other playwright of his time. The Piano Lesson, the fourth in a cycle of ten plays chronicling the African-American experience throughout the 20th century, won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play in 1990.

The Piano Lesson takes place in 1936. Boy Willie arrives in Pittsburgh from the South in a battered truck loaded with watermelons to sell. He has an opportunity to buy some land down home, but he has to come up with the money right quick. He wants to sell an old piano that has been in his family for generations, but he shares ownership with his sister, and it sits in her living room. She has already rejected several offers because the antique piano is covered with incredible carvings detailing the family's rise from slavery. Boy Willie tries to persuade his stubborn sister that the past is past, but she is more formidable than he anticipated.

Directed by Ed Smith, The Piano Lesson features accomplished Broadway-actress Lorey Hayes, Bryan Pitts, Laurence Pete, Lloyd Barnes Jr., Aaron Petite, F. Carl Brown, Savanah Jackson, and Kristal Jemerson. Designers include set design by George Miller, light design by Nikki DeShea Smith, sound design by Joe Rogers, and costume design by Tina Pitts.

The Piano Lesson previews March 20, 21, 22, and 26; the show opens March 27; and the show runs March 27 through April 19, 2009. Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3 p.m. Post performance talkbacks with the artists and special guests will be held March 26 and April 5. Preview performance tickets are $10; tickets range from $14 to $20 for the run of the production. Tickets can be purchased from the Jubilee Theatre Ticket Office by calling 817-338-4411 Tuesday through Friday between noon and 6 p.m. or online by visiting www.jubileetheatre.org.