The PA Shakespeare Festival kicks off its 2026 “Summer Theatre Series,” which runs May 27 through Aug. 2 on the campus of DeSales University, Center Valley, with August Wilson’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning play “The Piano Lesson,” which will be directed by Pulitzer-Prize-winning playwright James Ijames.

“The Piano Lesson” runs May 27 to June 14 in Schubert Theatre, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University.

PA Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Jason King Jones and PA Shakespeare Festival Managing Director Casey William Gallagher chose the plays for PSF’s 35th anniversary season theme “Legends and Legacy.”

“Our season celebrates legends of American culture, from rock ‘n’ roll icons to Shakespeare, Austen and Wilson, and through these legends we examine both the legacy that brought us here and the legacy we establish for the future,” Jones says.

The PSF 35th anniversary season includes “Million Dollar Quartet,” June 10 to June 28, Main Stage; “The Complete Works of Jane Austen, Abridged,” June 24 to July 12, Schubert Theatre; Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet,” July 8 to Aug. 7, Main Stage; Ken Ludwig’s “Moriarty,” July 16 to Aug. 1, and Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus,” Schubert Theatre, July 22 to Aug. 2.

Festival family programming includes the “Play On!” Community Tour, which brings Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” free to regional audiences, May 29 to June 14; “Sheila the Magical,” July 3 to Aug. 1, Schubert Theatre, and “Shakespeare for Kids,” which explores “Romeo and Juliet,” July 22 to Aug. 1, Main Stage and in community libraries.

The Romare Bearden painting, “The Piano Lesson,” inspired Wilson to write a play about a strong female character confronting African-American history, paralleling the character Troy in his earlier play “Fences.” PSF presented “Fences” during its 2022 season.

“The Piano Lesson” is set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression. The play follows the lives of Doaker Charles (Kash Goins) and his niece Berneice (Jessica Johnson) and nephew Boy Willie (Akeen Davis) as they argue over what to do with the family piano, an heirloom that is decorated with designs carved by an enslaved ancestor.

Boy Willie is a sharecropper who wants to sell the piano to buy the land where his ancestors toiled as slaves and claim his future.

Berniece guards the instrument as a sacred altar to their history because it shows the carved faces of their great-grandfather’s wife and son during the days of their enslavement.

As their clashes intensify, the ghosts of the past begin to stir, forcing a reckoning with a legacy they can neither sell nor escape.

The cast includes Terrence Clowe, Leonice Diaz, Johnnie Hobbs III, Jessica Money and Christopher James Murray.

Written in 1987, “The Piano Lesson” is the fourth play in Wilson’s “The Pittsburgh Cycle.” The play received the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and five Tony Award nominations, including for best play.

Directing “The Piano Lesson” at PSF is Ijames, who won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for his play “Fat Ham,” a modern adaption of Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”

Meet the actors for an informal talk-back after the June 4 and June 11 performances.

There will be an audio-described performance for the blind or visually-impaired May 30.

“Epilogues” a free discussion and a behind-the-scenes look at the show at 10 a.m. June 13 will allow audience members to gain deeper insight and ask questions.

“The Piano Lesson” is recommended for ages 13 and up. The production contains references to slavery, racial violence and family trauma, as well as supernatural elements and period-appropriate language including racial slurs.

“The Piano Lesson,” 7:30 p.m. May 27, 28, 29, June 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12; 2 p.m. May 30, 31, June 14; 6:30 p.m. June 2, 9; 2 p.m., 7:30 p.m. June 3, 13, PA Shakespeare Festival, Schubert Theatre, Labuda Center for the Performing Arts, DeSales University, 2755 Station Avenue, Center Valley. 610-282-9455, https://pashakespeare.org/

“Curtain Rises” is a column about the theater, stage shows, the actors in them and the directors and artists who make them happen. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com