Berniece, portrayed by Faushia Raquel Weeden, stands opposite Boy Willie, portrayed by Brandon Williams, in a scene from a production at Omaha Community Playhouse. Image sourced from Omaha Community Playhouse.
By Kaydon Webber
A Conflict Carved in Wood: Omaha Community Playhouse Opens The Piano Lesson
January 14th, 2026
Disharmony unfolds on stage as familial bonds break and bend in the Omaha Community Playhouse’s upcoming production, The Piano Lesson. Written by August Wilson, The Piano Lesson is the fourth play in his American Century Cycle. The show explores questions such as what mementos truly mean and how the scars of history influence the present. Vincent Orduña, the director of The Piano Lesson, says, “August Wilson—he’s such a specific playwright, and he really is an amazing wordsmith. He’s a poet. One of the great things about his writing is he writes the way people speak, so there’s a real flow to the language.”
The production features an all–African American cast, with actors such as Brandon Williams in the role of Boy Willie and Faushia Raquel Weeden as Berniece. The story revolves around a dispute between the two siblings over the fate of an old family heirloom carved by one of their ancestors. The piano itself contains a visual history of their entire family, etched into the wood. “We’ve spent a lot of time talking about what this prop should look like, and we ended up engaging an incredible visual artist who is literally carving the figures and the history that is referenced so often,” says Orduña. “I’m hoping the show generates conversation… regardless of your culture, people know what it is to lose a parent.”
This August Wilson play is a Pulitzer Prize–winning work that dives deep into the emotional weight of grief and the value we assign to personal history. The Piano Lesson will be showing from January 16 through February 8. More information can be found at omahaplayhouse.com.
