THE STRAIGHT DOPE:
August Wilson's plays often mix earthy recollections of African-American myths with bitingly real observations on the way race works today. His 1990 Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Piano Lesson touches on the importance of folklore and familial history. This 1995 Hallmark Hall of Fame TV production of the play (adapted for the small screen by Wilson himself) shortens the proceedings but, thanks to some powerful performances, gets the feeling just right.

Set mostly in one Depression-era Pittsburgh house, The Piano Lesson tells the story of an intricately carved piano. Boy Willie (Charles Dutton) brashly visits hoping to convince his sister Berniece (Alfre Woodard) to sell the family heirloom so he can buy a plot of land and establish himself as a farmer. Berniece refuses but Boy Willie tries to convince their uncle Doaker (Carl Gordon) that he's right. The significance of the piano is revealed slowly through a series of moving stories.

The film is filled with discussions about the past and the importance of remembering one's roots. The racism of the era is alluded to naturally, not at all in a heavy-handed way. Wilson's style is to put his characters in front of you and let them act naturally, talking about their specific problems on a personal scale, but telling you about the bigger issues in the process. Even the history of the land Boy Willie wants is crammed with complexity: It's part of the original plantation where his grandparents were slaves. That history is not played for the obvious, simplistic moral lesson but rather, through the piano, is allowed the detail and nuance of real life.

Some have criticized Wilson for dwelling on the "just folks" side of the rural black experience but that really sells him short. These characters have pain, for sure. The most powerful scene in The Piano Lesson, for me, finds Boy Willie, Doaker, Willie's friend Lymon (Courtney B. Vance), and Willie's uncle Winning Boy (Lou Myers) sitting around the kitchen table, talking about tough times, when Boy Willie starts to sing an old field song. Each man has his own approach to this reminder from the past, some hesitate, some join in, but eventually all four sing heartily, stomping their feet and raising a racket. The scene is funny, moving and powerful plus it has the added weight of the characters and the men playing them.

All the performances in The Piano Lesson are exceptional. Charles Dutton is rock-solid as the trouble-causing Boy Willie and Alfre Woodard is reserved but totally convincing as Berniece. Myers and Gordon are also superb as the older men, totally different in character but clearly sharing a history. Wilson's writing is obviously primarily aimed at the stage and these actors all would shine in that setting but they have no problem adapting to the small screen. Gordon and Dutton played father and son on TV's Roc, where they had the same chemistry, a mixture of roughness and tenderness that says it all about these characters.

VIDEO:
The full-frame video is acceptable, if a bit gritty. Colors are somewhat muted, veering towards brown (which matches the set and costume design). Image is unspectacular.

AUDIO:
The Dolby Surround sound is also acceptable if not exactly sensational. The dialog is clear and that's really what matters.

EXTRAS:
There are no extras other than some text bios and notes.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
Some have criticized The Piano Lesson for veering into the mystical at times, but this just works with the superstition the characters share. The film never gets too ghostly and leaves this aspect of the story up to the viewer's interpretation. The film is a worthwhile adaptation of a celebrated play that works.