The piano is an inert instrument one learns to play. But for Berniece (Monique Gaffney), the instrument is both symbol of a sad family history and the means of her release.

The Piano Lesson is one in August Wilson’s “Pittsburgh cycle” of 10 plays about black families, each set in a different decade and all but one taking place in the city’s Hills District. The play won the Pulitzer Prize, as did Fences, another in the cycle. The Piano Lesson plays through Sunday, Feb. 28, at Cygnet Theatre, directed by Delicia Turner Sonnenberg.

It’s 1936, and Berniece (Monique Gaffney), a widowed descendant of African American slaves, has tried to escape her past by geographical relocation to Pittsburgh, where she lives with her uncle Doaker (Antonio “T.J.” Johnson) and 11-year-old daughter Maretha (Madeline Hornbuckle).

Berniece has, however, brought the old upright piano from the plantation where her great grandparents worked. It’s a beautiful old piece, lovingly carved with images of those relatives and others, originally acquired by master Sutter as a present for his wife in exchange for “one and a half niggers” – Berniece’s great grandmother and her grandfather-to-be.

The post-emancipation attempted theft of the piano by Berniece’s father Boy Charles led to a fiery tragedy which cost five lives and unleashed a group of spirits known as the Ghosts of the Yellow Dog.

There’s another ghost haunting this family, too: that of Sutter, who apparently fell down his well under suspicious circumstances and now hangs out at Doaker’s place. Berniece and Maretha are frequently visited by this scary spectral presence.

Berniece has been unable to touch the piano since her mother died, and though Maretha occasionally plays, it mostly sits ignored in Doaker’s living room.

Berniece’s brother Boy Willie (Mark Christopher Lawrence), unlike his sister, has no trouble moving on from the past, arriving with friend Lymon (Laurence Brown) and a truck full of watermelons they intend to sell. Boy Willie also wants to sell the piano; his half of the profits will give him enough to buy the Mississippi farm where the family once worked. “If you got a piece of land, you’ll find everything else fall right into place,” he says.

But Berniece cannot let go of piano or past, and the ever-increasing tension between Berniece and Boy Willie provides the topic of most of the evening’s conversation and the dramatic drive, relieved by humor mostly injected by Lymon. Other characters bring distraction, too: Keith Jefferson’s spiffily clad, newly minted preacher Avery, looking for a church building and a wife; Doaker’s older brother Wining Boy (Grandison Phelps III), who has seen it all and just wants a quiet drink; and Tanya Johnson-Herron as feisty local girl Grace.

Johnson is rock solid in the anchor role of the world-weary Doaker. Gaffney’s Berniece may be wounded by life, but hasn’t lost her sass. Lawrence is endearing as the optimistic voice of the African American future, determined to claim his piece of the American dream. Brown is amusing and energetic as Lymon. The smaller roles are well portrayed by Hornbuckle, Phelps and Johnson-Herron.

Praise also to George Yé and Eric Lotze for their splendid sound and lighting designs.

The opening-night jitters I’ve heard about had all but disappeared by the next day, when I saw he show, and Sonnenberg is to be congratulated for turning in another splendid directing job on this important prize-winning play.

The Piano Lesson plays through Sunday, Feb. 28, at Cygnet Theatre in Old Town. Shows Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30 p.m.; Friday at 8 p.m.; Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m.; Sunday at 2 and 7 p.m. For tickets call 619-337-1525 or visit www.cygnettheatre.com.

In Aurélia’s world, kites fly people, ice cream cones are hot and a performer climbs upside-down into an inverted sedan chair borne by two Chinese red-clad helpers.

Red, in fact, is the dominant color of Aurélia’s Oratorio, a delightfully wacky and whimsical combination of vaudeville, burlesque, circus and dance. From the curtains to long swaths of red cloth used as acrobatic props to the jackets on the aforementioned players, it’s a red world.

Aurélia Thierrée has toured with Aurélia’s Oratorio since 2003. The show plays through Sunday, Feb. 28, at La Jolla Playhouse’s Mandell Weiss Theatre. Her mother, Victoria Thierrée Chaplin (Charlie Chapin’s daughter) created and directs the show.

At the top of this show, a hand emerges from a dresser drawer, followed by other body parts appearing from seemingly impossible places. Then clothing – a pair of red heels, a black dress – and objects like a candle and a wine glass, all borne by seemingly disembodied limbs. It’s a spectacular illusionist piece.

Thierrée shares the show with the terrific Jaime Martinez – muscular, graceful and an extraordinary dancer. Alone and together, they create a riveting dream world of impossible possibilities. Martinez dances with a dress that seems alive; he and Aurélia share a jacket and do a fabulous four-legged dance; both demonstrate acrobatic skills with all that red fabric.

It’s a visual world requiring no words (though a few are spoken and sung); a very French accordion provides frequent accompaniment. Its fascination comes from the grace and inventiveness of the performers and the obvious joy they communicate in sharing their art.

The sylph-like Thierrée began her theatrical career at the age of 3, performing with her family’s Cirque Imaginaire and Cirque Invisible. She has since worked with film artists such as Milos Forman and in variety and cabaret in Berlin.

Thierrée says the inspiration for the topsy-turvy show was a book of medieval drawings in which everything was reversed. The show is mostly upbeat, much of it amusing, but a bit where Aurélia presents a puppet show for a group of old-style child puppets takes a dark turn when one of the puppets tries to seduce, then molest its human partner.

But how can you resist a snowscape with cascading yards of snowy white fabric and a white-clad Thierrée chasing a butterfly, then calmly taking care of a bit of danger in the form of a hungry white lacy creature?

This captivating show is one of the most entertaining, inventive pieces you are likely to see.

Aurelia’s Oratorio plays through Sunday, Feb. 28, at the Mandell Weiss Theatre. Shows Tuesday and Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. For tickets, call 858-550-1010 or visit www.lajollaplayhouse.org.