Racism and Self-determination
In The Piano Lesson, a play about a Black family living in Pittsburgh in 1936, Boy Willie and his friend Lymon reflect different attitudes about self-determination, the process by which a person makes choices about and manages his or her own life. Both men have traveled from Mississippi to Pittsburgh to make some money while visiting Boy Willie’s sister, Berniece. They each want to create a new life for themselves—Boy Willie plans to…
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Spirituality and the Supernatural
The Piano Lesson is strongly characterized by spiritual and supernatural elements. For example, Avery’s ambition to become a Christian preacher and start a church is presented in a sincere and favorable light. More strikingly, however, encounters with ghosts and other unexplainable forces are sprinkled throughout the play. Even when certain characters don’t believe in the specific supernatural experiences that others describe (like Berniece dismissing Boy Willie’s explanation that ghosts killed Sutter or Boy…
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Grief, Hope, and History
The most important historical symbol in the play is the family piano. It’s a unique piano, not only for its beautiful and well-maintained quality, but for the carvings of family members engraved on it. The piano came into the family’s life back in the days of slavery (only a generation removed from most of the characters). Boy Willie’s and Berniece’s grandmother and their father, Boy Charles, were traded by the Sutter…
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Love, Relationships, and Independence
Though no single romantic relationship dominates the play, love and romance are a persistent undercurrent in the plot. This theme often takes a humorous turn: when Boy Willie and Lymon visit Pittsburgh, for example, one of their goals is to find out what Northern women are like and ideally to impress some of them, with decidedly mixed results. At other times, reflection on romance—especially among male characters—indicates a longing for mutual companionship despite sometimes unfaithful…
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