(Charles Isherwood’s article appeared in The New York Times, 11/20.)
After a traumatic fall that has left half the city in a harried funk, the Signature Theater comes roaring to the rescue this week with a revival of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play “The Piano Lesson” that feels like a generous gift: the stage equivalent of a free Thanksgiving turkey, amply stuffed and surrounded by all the trimmings. This immensely satisfying show, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, an actor who has become an expert interpreter of Wilson’s work, brings a timely reminder of how consoling, how restorative, how emotionally sustaining great theater can
be.
Strictly speaking this savory theatrical feast, which opened at the Pershing Square Signature Center on Sunday night, is not being served gratis. But as with all of the company’s regular-season productions, tickets are just $25, making this not only one of the best shows in town but also one of the best bargains. Even at Broadway’s hyper-inflated prices, this terrific production would be well
worth investing in. A more full-hearted and wide-ranging depiction of the harsh, heady jumble of life — the diurnal beauty and the overriding mystery, the shadowing pain and the exalting pleasure — can hardly be imagined.