Baltimore continues salute to August Wilson as ‘The Piano Lesson’ debuts Aug. 31

By D. Kevin McNeir
Special to the AFRO
kmcneir@afro.com

During the latter decades of the 20^th century, the works penned by a racially mixed, high school dropout from the economically depressed Hill District area of Pittsburgh began to cause a rumble within the theater community. His name was August Wilson.

It wasn’t long before that rumble became a roar as Wilson delivered a collection of 10 plays – each occurring in a specific decade during the 20^th century. The stage plays struck an emotional chord with African-American audiences, who easily related to stories that illustrate the joys and pain of everyday Black life.

Now, to pay tribute to Wilson and expose the Baltimore community to his 10-play American Century Cycle, 10 theater companies in the city have joined forces for the August Wilson Celebration. 

In just a few weeks, beginning Aug. 31, Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre will present Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson,” the fourth play of the series and one of the two plays for which he received the Pulitzer Prize. 

While the play was recently released on Netflix and met with high marks from viewers, Howard University professor and leading Wilson scholar Sandra Shannon believes that to really engage with Wilson’s carefully created characters and intricate plot, one must experience his work in a theater environment. 

“If you’ve never been to the theater, or if you have not seen an August Wilson production on stage, now is the perfect time and Baltimore is the perfect place,” said Shannon, who was intricately involved in brokering the deal that brought the playwright’s “Century Cycle” and multiple theater companies from the city together. 

“What fascinates and draws me in is how Wilson tells a story–my story–and recounts my history–Black history–on stage,” she said. “As part of the audience, he invites us into a community that’s created primarily by his characters, and because it’s live, we feel their anguish, their joy and their moments of triumph more intensely than one sitting alone at home in front of their television.” 

The bottom line, as Shannon said, is that while Wilson writes for Black people, like Lorraine Hansberry, author of “A Raisin in the Sun.” Wilson focuses on situations which African Americans have encountered and which they, unlike other demographics, intimately understand. 

She noted that in “The Piano Lesson,” audiences can expect to see Wilson’s message that we must always remember our past, live in the present and be prepared to move toward the future repeated and illustrated throughout the production. 

“Wilson’s works on stage cannot replicate the spectacle and special effects that are an essential element in the Netflix production of ‘The Piano Lesson,’ therefore one must listen intently and carefully focus on the characters as they react to both one another and the situations in which they’re placed,” she said. “There are multiple lessons to learn including the importance of calling on the ancestors, standing one’s ground no matter what’s going on around you, recognizing the power which comes with land ownership, and always remembering from whence we have come.” 

In a rare move, Baltimore theaters exit their silos 

Given the demands which theaters face in bringing works that resonate with audiences to the stage, while also staying on budget to remain financially solvent–if not profitable– it’s easy to understand why most companies rarely have either the time or energy to work collaboratively with one another. 

But that’s exactly what has happened in Charm City after Lesley Malin, founder of The Chesapeake Shakespeare Co. and its producing executive director since 2003, began to discuss and act on an idea that had been fermenting in her mind.

“I had no idea that it would be so much work, but that’s a good thing because we’ve been able to accomplish so much,” Malin said. “We all wanted to pay respect to August Wilson, and by working together we’ve been able to bring his works to larger audiences and bring the Baltimore community together. That’s never been done with the city’s theater companies promoting such an initiative.”

Malin said the response from the community has been outstanding, and with every production, more and more people are hearing about the celebration and turning out in big numbers. 

“It’s great to see each theater take their turn in the spotlight,” she said. “And we’re attracting patrons who have never been to our theaters before, which is another positive outcome. Our company brought ‘Joe Turner’s Come and Gone’ to the stage last September and it came in as the highest attended non-musical that we’ve ever produced. Several of our partnering theaters have reported similar record-breaking attendances.”

Arena Players, Inc. kicked off the celebration in April 2024 with the first in Wilson’s cycle, “Gem of the Ocean” (set in 1904), followed by Chesapeake Shakespeare Co. with “Joe Turner’s Come and Gone in September 2024, and ArtsCentric, Inc. with “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in April 2025. 

Wilson’s fourth play in his cycle, “The Piano Lesson,” opens on August 31 and runs through September 28 with Everyman Theatre at the helm. The remainder of Wilson’s plays will feature a different Baltimore theater company and will be produced in January 2026 and tentatively end in the fall of 2026 with the final play in the cycle, “Radio Golf,” set in 1990. 

Collaboration comes easy with tremendous results for the team 

Mia Thomas and Shalyce Hemby, both part of the business team for ArtsCentric, agreed with their colleagues and said the unique partnership forged among Baltimore’s theaters has brought a new crop of audiences to their stages – one which they hope to nurture.  

“We produced ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ last April, the third of Wilson’s 10 plays, and while some of our patrons said they’d seen the play on Netflix, most of our audiences were new to both August Wilson and our venue,” Thomas said. “That was very exciting and encouraging to the ArtsCentric family. Further, we were honored to showcase the work of a Black playwright of Wilson’s caliber who continues to open doors for many of today’s playwrights, particularly those of color.” 

Khalid Y. Long, associate professor of theatre arts and associate dean of research and creative endeavors at Howard University, also serves as the dramaturg for the Baltimore August Wilson Celebration which he said has given him the rare opportunity to work with all the theater companies involved in the project. 

“I serve as a resource for all 10 theaters and also work with them to produce audience engaged events, like post discussions and preshow lectures – things that raise interest and awareness about August Wilson and his works,” Long said. “I have even hosted a workshop for Baltimore teachers that included a lively conversation with Dr. Sandra Shannon and one of the featured actors, Jefferson Russell, who’s well known in this region. These kinds of events are always free to the public and they’re a great way to spread the word and to educate people about Wilson and his many contributions.” 

Earlier this summer, Long celebrated the release of his Cambridge University Press book, “August Wilson in Context,” for which he served as a co-editor. He said he hopes more people will recognize Wilson’s brilliance and added that he considers Wilson one of the 20^th century’s most important playwrights. 

“I wanted to contribute something that would impact students, theatre practitioners and general readers who have expressed interest in such a remarkable figure like Wilson,” he said. “Despite his life being cut short because of cancer, he left an artistic legacy that only a handful of creatives have ever achieved. 

“Even more, Wilson took up the baton in African Americans’ centuries-old struggle for justice and equality. Wilson was a master at documenting the Black experience and through his plays, he told our unabridged story which illustrates his belief that we’re stronger together than alone. 

Could this serve as a message of inspiration for the residents of Baltimore? I believe it is.”