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| Rapheal J. Hamilton, Dzifa E. Kwawu, and Ken Love Photo by Laura Durant |
highlights from local critics reviews - (click link at bottom of each review to read complete review)
Click here for more information on this production that runs through February 18
"The Black Theatre Troupe, which has previously produced all 10 plays in August Wilson's acclaimed "Century Cycle," is currently presenting a wonderful production of one of the two plays in the cycle that won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, The Piano Lesson. Set in 1936 Pittsburgh and focusing on two siblings feuding over a family heirloom, it features a wonderful cast including a phenomenal performance by Rapheal J. Hamilton....The plot centers on the Charles family, whose lineage is intricately tied to a piano that carries the scars of the family's painful history of slavery...Siblings Berniece and Boy Willie differ on what they think they should do with the piano. ..As Boy Willie, Rapheal J. Hamilton is delivering a sensational performance infused with non-stop energy, impulsiveness, and the constantly nagging desire to prove that Willie is just as good as the white man and that instead of working on someone else's land, he'll sell the piano to have land of his own. ...As Berniece...Dzifa E. Kwawu's facial expressions, body language and silent gestures say just as much as Hamilton's larger than life antics. It is a portrayal with a perfect balance of strength and vulnerability ...an emotionally charged production that serves as a poignant exploration of family dynamics and also a celebration of a family's legacy, woven together with humor, tragedy, the power of music, and the always present echoes of ghosts of the past." - Gil Benbrook, TalkinBroadway.com (click here to read the complete review)
"Kwawu and Hamilton hold center stage with captivating performances as equally strong-willed agents of their shared legacy. Their energy is amplified by the accompaniment not only of solid supporting performances by Trevell Chapell as Doaker’s brother, Winning Boy, an affable out-of-luck singer, and Eric Banks as preacher Avery, who aspires to marry Berniece, but also by music....we are drawn not only into its rhythms but also into its reminders of a damaging legacy with which we, like Wilson’s characters, have need to reconcile. " - Herbert Paine , Broadway World (click here to read the complete review)
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