Netflix’s “The Piano Lesson,” starring John David Washington and Danielle Deadwyler, is based on August Wilson’s 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name.

That’s the underlying conceit of August Wilson’s play The Piano Lesson, in which a piano passed down through generations of one Black family wields the power to unite that family, though it also threatens to drive them apart.

Starring Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, and Danielle Deadwyler, The Piano Lesson finds ways to expand this play beyond the stage.

“The Piano Lesson” is really only held together by its talented cast and August Wilson’s original work. If you want to watch a film adaptation of this play — without the literal horror moments — just watch the 1995 version, which is streaming on Tubi. — Erin

Malcolm Washington puts a horror-movie spin on August Wilson with Netflix's "The Piano Lesson," a family drama that doubles as ghost story.