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Press Contact: Corey Frier- Ritsch
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Everyman Theatre : August Wilson Production Photos and Imagery
Everyman Theatre opens 35th Anniversary Season with August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-Winning Masterpiece, The Piano Lesson
Onstage August 31-September 8
BALTIMORE, MD (8/7/25) – Everyman Theatre is delighted to kick off its 2025/2026 season with a powerful production of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, The Piano Lesson. Directed by Everyman Theatre’s Associate Artistic Director and Resident Company Member Paige Hernandez. The production runs from August 31 to September 28, 2025, and is the fourth play of The Baltimore August Wilson Celebration, a city-wide initiative that unites 10 local theater companies to present all of Wilson’s American Century Cycle of plays in chronological order of the decade they’re set in.
Set in 1930s Pittsburgh, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson is a luminous drama that weaves history and spirituality together. It centers on a family and their antique piano; a cherished heirloom intricately carved with the history of their ancestors. The play’s central conflict unfolds between a brother, Boy Willie, who is determined to sell the piano to buy the very land his family once worked on, and his sister, Berniece, who insists on keeping the piano as a spiritual testament to their past. Their struggle explores heritage, memory, and the sacrifices needed to forge a new future.
August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson features a dynamic and gifted group of actors, including RJ Brown (Primary Trust) as Boy Willie, Payton Crosier as Maretha, Louis E. Davis (Primary Trust) as Lymon Everyman Resident Company Member Jefferson A. Russell (Primary Trust) as Doaker, Chinai Routté (POTUS, or Behind Every Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive) as Berniece, KenYatta Rogers (Topdog/ Underdog) as Wining Boy, Mecca Rogers as Maretha, and Mecca Verdell as Grace. The creative team, led by Hernandez, also includes Resident Company Member Daniel Ettinger (Scenic Design), Resident Company Member David Burdick (Costume Design), Alberto Segarra (Lighting Design), David Remedios (Sound Design), Denise O’Brien (Wig Design), Gerard Alex Taylor (Fight/Intimacy), Resident Company Member Robin Quick (Dramaturgy), and Hannah Jones (Stage Management).
“I am beyond excited to bring this monumental work to life and to be a part of The Baltimore August Wilson Celebration,” says director Paige Hernandez, “This play asks us to consider what we inherit and what we pass on, and it’s a story that resonates deeply with themes of family, legacy, and the struggle to find one’s place between the past and the future. We can’t wait for our audience to experience this powerful, timeless work.”
Since its founding 35 years ago, Everyman Theatre has demonstrated a commitment to the works of August Wilson, staging several of his acclaimed plays. The theatre has produced Fences twice, first in 2001 and again in 2016, showcasing its enduring relevance. Other productions include Gem of the Ocean in 2008 and Radio Golf in 2019. These productions are a testament to Everyman’s dedication to presenting “great stories, well told” and their role in bringing the powerful voice of August Wilson to Baltimore audiences.
Everyman Theatre’s Founding Artistic Director Vincent M. Lancisi says, “We are honored to open our 35th season with this masterpiece and to be a part of the city’s extraordinary August Wilson Celebration.”
There are 31 public performances scheduled for this production, starting with a special Pay-What-You-Choose performance on Sunday, August 31. Weekday and weekend performances run through Sunday, September 28. Tickets start at $55, and nearly 500 additional accessible Pay-What-You-Choose seats are also available throughout the run to help remove any price barriers for patrons to come enjoy this production. Student tickets are also available at any time for the low price of only $27.
August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson
Proudly presented as part of The Baltimore August Wilson Celebration
Directed by Paige Hernandez
Onstage August 31– September 28th
Tickets are on sale now at everymantheatre.org or by contacting the box office
at boxoffice@everymantheatre.org or calling 410.752.2208. Standard box office hours are Monday through Friday 12pm-5pm and closed on Saturday and Sunday (unless in production.) The Box Office will open two hours before every performance, including weekends.
Special Performances
- Sunday, August 31, 7PM- Pay-What-You-Choose: This final dress rehearsal will be open to the public the Sunday leading into Preview Week. General Admission seating is on a first come-first serve basis. Click here for more information.
- Sunday, August 31, 5:30PM – TNT (Theatre Night for Teens): A social event for high-school aged students who want to see a play and meet other teens interested in theatre. High schoolers (grades 9-12) can join us for dinner, the show, and post-show discussions with artists. Tickets include the 7 PM show. More details here.
- Tues-Thursday Sept 2/ 3/4,7PM- Preview Performances: Be among the first audience to see August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson during one of our three preview performances.
- Thursday, September 18 - Cast Conversation: Ticket holders are invited to stay after the performance and meet the cast in a 30-minute facilitated talk back.
- Sunday, September 14 - Childcare Matinee: The Everyman Theatre Education Team will provide childcare for children ages 3 – 12 during the show. Pricing starts at only $20 per child. Take a moment to relax and enjoy a show knowing your child is safe and having a wonderful time with an Everyman Theatre Teaching Artist! Learn more about Everyman’s childcare matinee service here.
- Tuesday, September 23, 12:00PM–Lunchtime Matinee: A special early start time offers students, colleagues, or any theater lover a chance to break up their day with a little theatre for lunch.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
AUGUST WILSON (April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) authored Gem of the Ocean, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, The Piano Lesson, Seven Guitars, Fences, Two Trains Running, Jitney, King Hedley II, and Radio Golf. These works explore the heritage and experience of African Americans, decade-by-decade, over the course of the twentieth century. His plays have been produced at regional theaters across the country and all over the world, as well as on Broadway. In 2003, Mr. Wilson made his professional stage debut in his one-man show, How I Learned What I Learned. Mr. Wilson’s works garnered many awards including Pulitzer Prizes for Fences (1987); and for The Piano Lesson (1990); a Tony Award for Fences; Great Britain’s Olivier Award for Jitney; as well as eight New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Fences, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, The Piano Lesson, Two Trains Running, Seven Guitars, Jitney, and Radio Golf. Additionally, the cast recording of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom received a 1985 Grammy Award, and Mr. Wilson received a 1995 Emmy Award nomination for his screenplay adaptation of The Piano Lesson. Mr. Wilson’s early works included the one-act plays The Janitor, Recycle, The Coldest Day of the Year, Malcolm X, The Homecoming and the musical satire Black Bart and the Sacred Hills. For more information about August Wilson, please see:
https://www.augustwilsonsociety.org
ABOUT EVERYMAN THEATRE
Everyman Theatre, a professional Equity Theatre company in Baltimore’s Bromo Arts District. Founded in 1990 by Vincent M. Lancisi, its mission is to offer transformative, accessible theatre experiences including a Resident Company of Artist. Led by Lancisi and Managing Director Marissa LaRose, Everyman values people, community, and excellence, fostering meaningful connections and supporting local artists through diverse and inclusive storytelling. Everyman Theatre is supported in part by Lead Corporate Sponsor Gallagher, Evelius, and Jones, LLP, and in part by grants from Mayor Brandon M. Scott, Baltimore City, The Maryland State Arts Council (msac.org), The Citizens of Baltimore County, and The Shubert Foundation.
ABOUT THE BALTIMORE AUGUST WILSON CELEBRATION
The Baltimore August Wilson Celebration aims to unite Baltimore’s diverse theatre community. This ambitious project will highlight three to four productions of a Wilson play each year, each presented by a different theatre company. Current participating theatres include Baltimore Center Stage, Arena Players, ArtsCentric, Fell’s Point Corner Theatre, Everyman Theatre, Spotlighters Theatre, and The Chesapeake Shakespeare Company. Join us as we embark on this unprecedented journey to honor August Wilson’s legacy and showcase the power of collaboration within Baltimore’s thriving theatre scene.
Learn more at bmoreaugustwilson.org.