| Don't Believe The Hype -- Direction Leads To Disappointment
A Review by Geraldine Inoa
William Penn High School
Given its title, The Piano Lesson, nothing about it suggests a play dedicated to the legacy of slavery. The Piano Lesson, now playing at the Delaware Theatre Company, is a production that runs around three hours long. Its direction by Kevin Ramsey is vividly shown throughout the entire production. While the material may be a poignant piece of drama, the production falls a bit short. Inconsistency leaves you feeling, "it fails to live to its hype."
Ramsey's direction strikes you at various times of the production. For instance, at one point the characters take you to the fields of a plantation with a moving slave song. The lighting effects and sound bring the audience to the field. Here, is where Ramsey shines. During the beginning the audience is vaguely introduced to the characters. Long anecdotes are delivered but no development occurs. Moreover, where Ramsey fails to deliver the essence of the Pulitzer winning play is through the characters. Inconsistency can only be used to describe this direction. It is evident where the direction was detailed and pin pointed. Boy Willie is thoroughly developed as an impetuous and ambitious man. He is vividly portrayed by Malik Yoba. His ambition faintly reminds you of Walter Younger in another African American drama, A Raisin In the Sun. Had Ramsey continued his focus on the characters like he did with Boy Willie, he might have salvaged some of the essence of the play. Other characters fall flat, almost one dimensional. These include Berniece and Wining Boy which feel like painted cliche players in yet another Black drama about slavery. Lymon, played by Edward O'Blenis, falls flat. He delivers his one-liners without ever going deeper. He lacks a depth that can only be attributed to direction.
What saves the production is the excellence in lighting which was done by Troy A. Martin-O'Shia. At various points of the production, lighting manifests the haunting of the piano. Sound as well augments the phantom-like atmosphere of the production which is credited to Fabian Obispo.
One look at the playbill may leave one believing that the star of this show is Malik Yoba. (With almost an entire page dedicated to his credentials) But after experiencing the production, it is revealed the star of the show is the piano. Staged immediately center, the entire focus of the show is to this beautiful mahogany piece of musical wood. The piano is the focus. It is the piano that teaches the lesson. This is wonderfully portrayed in the production. Ina Mayhew makes sure that the audience never forgets about the existence of the piano.
It turns out to a decent production. I sat amongst a myriad of audience members, some bored, other moved, wondering, “What Wilson would think?” Something tells me, the Delaware Theatre Company's production is not entirely what he envisioned.
Back |