According to a Telecharge customer service email obtained by Broadway News, “Piano Lesson” star Samuel L. Jackson will not take the stage during the performances from Jan. 11-14.
The notice cites “an unavoidable absence.” Representatives did not respond to a request for comment regarding a more specific reason for the absence.
Performances of the show will continue on these dates, with Jackson’s standby going on in the role of Doaker Charles, according to the email. (Actors Kim Sullivan and Peter Jay Fernandez are both credited as understudies for the role, though a standby is not named.)
According to the Telecharge email, patrons are being offered the option to exchange their tickets for another performance or get a refund.
LaTanya Richardson Jackson directs the revival of August Wilson’s “The Piano Lesson,” which opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Oct. 12, 2022. The production is scheduled to close on Jan. 29.
“The Piano Lesson” is produced on Broadway by Brian Anthony Moreland, Sonia Friedman, Tom Kirdahy, Kandi Burruss and Todd Tucker.
