Everyone on the Piano Lesson family tree
| Portrait | Person | In the story | Life | On the chart |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PB | Papa Boy WillieGreat-grandfather | Before the play | The carpenter who carved the piano. | Find on the chart |
| MB | Mama BernieceGreat-grandmother | Before the play | Traded with her son for the piano. | Find on the chart |
| PB | Papa Boy CharlesGrandfather | Before the play | Traded for the piano as a child. | Find on the chart |
| BC | Boy CharlesFather of Berniece | Dies before the play | Took the piano and died in the boxcar fire. | Find on the chart |
| MO | Mama OlaMother of Berniece | Dies before the play | Polished the piano for seventeen years. | Find on the chart |
| DC | Doaker CharlesUncle | All seven scenes | A railroad man who tells the history. | Find on the chart |
| WB | Wining BoyUncle | Both acts | A piano player, aged fifty-six. | Find on the chart |
| CH | Cleotha HolmanFormer wife of Wining Boy | Dies before the play | She died in Kansas City. Sources2 | Find on the chart |
| B | BernieceDaughter of Boy Charles | All seven scenes | She keeps the piano and plays it at last. | Find on the chart |
| C | CrawleyHusband of Berniece | Dies before the play | Shot by the sheriff’s men. | Find on the chart |
| M | MarethaDaughter of Berniece | All seven scenes | Eleven years old. Sources2 | Find on the chart |
| BW | Boy WillieSon of Boy Charles | All seven scenes | He wants to sell the piano for land. | Find on the chart |
| LJ | Lymon JacksonFriend of Boy Willie | All seven scenes | He drives the truck north. | Find on the chart |
| AB | Avery BrownSuitor of Berniece | From Act One, Scene 1 | A preacher who tries to bless the house. | Find on the chart |
| G | GraceA woman in Pittsburgh | From Act Two, Scene 3 | Boy Willie brings her home. | Find on the chart |
| RS | Robert SutterOwner of the family | Before the play | He traded people for the piano. | Find on the chart |
| S | SutterGrandson of Robert | Dies before the play | His ghost haunts the piano. | Find on the chart |
Cite this page
The article is unsigned, so the site stands as author and the date is its last revision. Cite the numbered sources for the facts and the article for the chart. Each reference gives the address of the article.
- APAGenogram Builder. (2026, November 10). The Piano Lesson family tree. https://genogrambuilder.org/stories/the-piano-lesson-family-tree
- MLA“The Piano Lesson Family Tree.” Genogram Builder, 10 Nov. 2026, https://genogrambuilder.org/stories/the-piano-lesson-family-tree.
- ChicagoGenogram Builder. “The Piano Lesson Family Tree.” Last modified November 10, 2026. https://genogrambuilder.org/stories/the-piano-lesson-family-tree.
- HarvardGenogram Builder (2026) The Piano Lesson Family Tree. Available at: https://genogrambuilder.org/stories/the-piano-lesson-family-tree (Accessed: 10 November 2026).
The files are drawn in this browser from the chart of the article, with the credit of every picture under it.
Sources and credits
The relations and events are cited to the act and scene in which the LitCharts scene summaries and plot summary place them, and to its character list. The dates of the first production, the Pulitzer Prize, the edition and the two films come from the Wikipedia article on the play. All were read on 10 November 2026. The page shows no picture because the play is in copyright.
Wikipedia