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Friday, January 27, 2023
THE PIANO LESSON to be Filmed for the Lincoln Center Theatre on Film and Tape Archives
www.broadwayworld.com: The Broadway revival of August Wilson's The Piano Lesson will be filmed tonight for the Lincoln Center Theatre on Film and Tape Archives, therefore providing all theatre professionals a chance to watch the most successful Wilson production in Broadway history.
3 comments:
Allison Schneider
said...
I want to see this show so badly. I’ve heard so many good things so I am thrilled to learn about the taping of the show. It closes tomorrow and I am just so happy to know my chance to see it in some form isn't over. I know the show it set in Pittsburgh, and my RA saw it with his friend over the winter break, saying how interesting of an experience it was to hear specific local places being named during the show. Being new to the city, I would have loved to have been able to see the show with a general knowledge of where those locations are. Now maybe one day I can! I do think its fantastic that the Piano Prop will be donated to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. I am a huge fan of theatre having a place in museums, as it provides so much information about not only the script, but each production, and the times it was produced in, etc.
I think the Piano Lesson is a good example of a performance that should be taped for archive purposes. The taping of live performances often ranges in opinion based on the rights of the filmer, the performance, and the desired use of archived footage. In the Piano Lesson context it can be useful for future performers and designers to access historical pieces but I also think tapings are exclusionary to the public. While I understand tapings of performances cannot be released willy nilly to the public sphere I do think it’s an element of gatekeeping theatre now that we have ways to show people live theatre and performances via video recordings. The description of the piano in the article as well as the featured photo is also a really cool set piece/prop to me as I especially love things on set that were made and designed specifically for a plot point and not to just to fill a generic time period or set direction quota.
I have recently been more exposed to August Wilson’s work. Specifically, the Pittsburgh cycle of plays is fascinating to me. To have extensive stories that show the lives of people from a particular place over time is unlike anything I’ve seen before. Additionally, of course, the plays are beautifully written and strike a balance between the comedy that we experience in our lives and the tragedy that is unwelcome but follows. The design on the piano made for The Piano Lesson is stunning of course, that is its whole point for existing. The theatre industry is so wasteful. As soon as the show is over everything is considered trash that is thrown away or stock that is buried to maybe be used again, emphasizing the maybe. This piano serves as a point in history that deserves to be elevated. This piano deserves to live on display and I am so glad that they plan on doing just that.
3 comments:
I want to see this show so badly. I’ve heard so many good things so I am thrilled to learn about the taping of the show. It closes tomorrow and I am just so happy to know my chance to see it in some form isn't over. I know the show it set in Pittsburgh, and my RA saw it with his friend over the winter break, saying how interesting of an experience it was to hear specific local places being named during the show. Being new to the city, I would have loved to have been able to see the show with a general knowledge of where those locations are. Now maybe one day I can! I do think its fantastic that the Piano Prop will be donated to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. I am a huge fan of theatre having a place in museums, as it provides so much information about not only the script, but each production, and the times it was produced in, etc.
I think the Piano Lesson is a good example of a performance that should be taped for archive purposes. The taping of live performances often ranges in opinion based on the rights of the filmer, the performance, and the desired use of archived footage. In the Piano Lesson context it can be useful for future performers and designers to access historical pieces but I also think tapings are exclusionary to the public. While I understand tapings of performances cannot be released willy nilly to the public sphere I do think it’s an element of gatekeeping theatre now that we have ways to show people live theatre and performances via video recordings. The description of the piano in the article as well as the featured photo is also a really cool set piece/prop to me as I especially love things on set that were made and designed specifically for a plot point and not to just to fill a generic time period or set direction quota.
I have recently been more exposed to August Wilson’s work. Specifically, the Pittsburgh cycle of plays is fascinating to me. To have extensive stories that show the lives of people from a particular place over time is unlike anything I’ve seen before. Additionally, of course, the plays are beautifully written and strike a balance between the comedy that we experience in our lives and the tragedy that is unwelcome but follows. The design on the piano made for The Piano Lesson is stunning of course, that is its whole point for existing. The theatre industry is so wasteful. As soon as the show is over everything is considered trash that is thrown away or stock that is buried to maybe be used again, emphasizing the maybe. This piano serves as a point in history that deserves to be elevated. This piano deserves to live on display and I am so glad that they plan on doing just that.
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