In “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood,” there is one scene where Mister Rogers’s piano playing is upstaged.

Fred Rogers, played by Tom Hanks, is seated at a piano in the living room of his apartment in Pittsburgh, and his wife, Joanne Rogers (played by Maryann Plunkett), is at a separate piano beside him. The couple plays a lively duet, and Mrs. Rogers, her hair in loose white curls, is clearly in control, shouting “turn!” as a signal for when her husband should flip the page of his sheet music.

In a movie that is largely about Fred Rogers’s relationship with a cynical magazine reporter, the scene imagines an everyday moment between a couple for whom music was a defining part of the relationship. In a brief snatch of screen time, audiences can see Joanne Rogers in her own right — as more than just a character who provides insight on her humble celebrity husband.

In the 16 years since Fred Rogers’s death, Joanne Rogers, 91, has acted as a sort of surrogate spokeswoman for his distinct brand of kindness and humanity. She has been active in promoting Mister Rogers’s legacy, attending publicity events where she is often asked to imagine what her husband, who was sometimes considered to be a moral compass for the country, would have thought about today’s polarized politics and culture .