I have never done a review this way. In a short amount of time I have watched three versions of The Piano Lesson. I saw the live show first. Then I attempted to watch the 2024 film. Then I watched the 1995 film before trying once again to watch the new one. Full disclosure: I am missing half an hour of it and will likely never watch it. I am going to take each character and actor/actress from these different versions and talk about how I received them and what I liked or didn't.
“Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson follows the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, which is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor. The play focuses on the arguments between a brother and a sister who have different ideas on what to do with the piano. The brother, Boy Willie, is a sharecropper who wants to sell the piano to buy the land (Sutter's land) where his ancestors toiled as slaves. The sister, Berniece, remains emphatic about keeping the piano, which shows the carved faces of their great-grandfather's wife and son during the days of their enslavement.”
Doaker: Alex Morris, Samuel L. Jackson, Carl Gordon
In the live show Morris' Doaker mainly wants to stay out of all the screaming and conflicts happening in the house between Berniece and Boy Willie. He comes across as how many of the uncles in my life were: they existed and stayed out of the way for the most part. This same actor was in another play we had seen (King Hedley) and I liked him. I didn't like my actual uncles. Most were louses. Jackson's Doaker didn't really have much of an impact on me. I can't say anything that stood out about him to me in the performance. Even the scene where he explains the story of the piano was like “Okay.” Gordon's version of Doaker was commanding to me. He wanted everyone to just hush up and when it was time to flex he did. Man pulled out a gun at one point. Spoiler: the 1995 movie had my favorite version of everyone I'm writing about.
Berniece: Nija Okoro, Danielle Deadwyler, Alfre Woodard
In the live show Okoro walked a fine line between angry and frantic at times. I had seen her previously in Blues For An Alabama Sky. Though this show was long I do not have a lot of memory of her. Mostly another character that talked 70% of the play. I didn't have any issues with her. Deadwyler's version of her was wild. The way she was acting did not seem to fit the tone of the story and I couldn't see why the men who were into her were into her other than the fact that her husband was dead and she was available. She came across as just cold and uncaring towards her daughter. Her screaming at the end of the movie just annoyed the hell out of me. This entire version is extra. Woodard's performance was great. She seemed like she cared about everyone including her annoying ass brother. Out of the three I can recall her the most because she had a bigger presence.
Lymon: Evan Lewis Smith, Ray Fisher, Courtney B. Vance
Smith's version of Lymon was not a creep. He seemed like a country boy that could be taken advantage of by slick talkers and wicked city women but he was not a creep. He was funny at times and stood up for himself when he needed to. I liked him. Fisher's version of him? Yeesh. It was like he was dropped on his head a bunch of times as a child. He came across as dumb and sinister and I thought that was a weird take on this character because at this point I had only seen the live version and they were not similar at all. I wonder what made them go with this choice or character development. He just came across as skeezy as hell. He acts wild eyed and ready to pounce. (edit: just went and watched scene where he hits on Berniece and ugh!) Vance's version was like the live version but deeper. You could take advantage of him to a point before he stood up for himself. Even in the scene where he came at Berniece it didn't feel sinister, but that he was barking up the wrong tree.
Boy Willie: Kai A. Ealy, John David Washington, Charles S. Dutton
Ealy's version was annoying as hell. He didn't start off that way and its not fault of his own. They just didn't cut any of his lines and he would straight up go on tangents for ten minutes to where it was exhausting to listen to. It was worse in the second half of the play. Still, he seemed likable at times and did a great job. Washington though? I have been saying this for years and this movie reinforced this belief: this dude cant act for shit. I have now seen almost every movie he has been in and this dude not it. It sounded like Denzel was doing a country/slave voice. He was not likable at any time and didn't even look right for the part. He would do these bug eyed looks and I was like “Who is this for?” I don't think anyone else playing this part could have saved this flavorless ass movie but he for sure didn't help. If you like him, that's cool because he shows no signs of slowing down. But his portrayal of Boy Willie was by far the worse one. Dutton's version had me thinking he was the best within moments of being on screen. I felt he was likable but stubborn as shit about getting this piano and buying his land. Dutton walks a fine line between looking like he could either hug you or beat your ass. I think the only other actor I can think of that is like that is Forest Whitaker.
I liked the play because it was good but just too damn long. The Netflix movie was not good to me in any way. The 1995 version was good, had the shortest run time, and best performances. Even the characters I didn't mention were better in the 90's version. The portrayal of the ghost in the house done well in the play. Saw it once at the beginning near the piano. The Netflix version has the shit turn into The Conjuring. The 90's version did it just right, not showing a ghost beating Boy Willie's ass. I'm glad I am done with this post. I had been putting it off because I knew I would have to watch more of the new version than I wanted to.
2024 (A Noise Within) 7/10
Alex Morris as Doaker
Kai A. Ealy as Boy Willie
Nija Okoro as Berniece
Evan Lewis Smith as Lymon
1995 (TV movie) 9/10
Charles S. Dutton as Boy Willie
Alfre Woodard as Berniece Charles
Carl Gordon as Doaker
Courtney B. Vance as Lymon
2024 (Netflix) 1/10
Samuel L. Jackson as Doaker
John David Washington as Boy Willie
Danielle Deadwyler as Berniece
Ray Fisher as Lymon
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