August Wilson wins the Pulitzer Prize for “The Piano Lesson”

August Wilson, a prolific African-American playwright, wrote a play for each decade of the 90’s to represent black culture during the 20th century. The Piano Lesson is part of his “10-play Pittsburgh cycle” that takes place during the 1930’s Great Depression. This musically inclined production opened on Broadway in 1989 and addresses the positive and negative aspects of the African-American heritage with humor, suspense, and misfortune.

On this day, February 11th, in 1992, August Wilson wins his second Pulitzer Prize for his outstanding play The Piano Lesson. The plot is centered on the arguments between the two main characters over their family heirloom, the prized piano. The piano represented the Charles family’s legacy, and its beautiful carvings told their tragic, noble, and bloody history. When Boy Willie (the brother) attempts to sell it and use the money to buy the land his family worked on as slaves, Berneice (the sister) refuses and clings to it as a memorabilia of her history. The battle between the brother and sister emphasizes mobilization of African-Americans by attempting to embrace the culture.

In 1990, The Piano Lesson won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Play. Also in 1995, the TV movie of The Piano Lesson won Wilson a Peabody Award. In addition, this play premiered at the Yale Repertory Theatre and since then has traveled all over the states from Chicago’s Goodman Theatre to Los Angeles’ Doolittle Theatre.